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Potential cancer risk from CT decreased parental willingness to test
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Nearly 50% of parents are aware of a potential increased lifetime malignancy risk associated with computed tomography imaging, but they were willing to discuss the risks with physicians, according to recent study findings published in Pediatrics.
“There has been a fivefold increase in ED use of CT, which involved higher radiation doses than other diagnostic imaging modalities,” researchers wrote. “Simultaneously, there are increasing concerns about the potential future malignancy risk associated with the exposure to ionizing radiation, especially in children because they are more radiosensitive than adults.”
The prospective cross-sectional survey included 742 parents whose children presented to an ED with a head injury. Questions were derived and validated using expert opinion, available literature, and pre- and pilot testing of questions with the target audience.
Researchers found that 46.8% of participants were aware of a potential increase lifetime malignancy risk from CT. Before risk disclosure, 90.4% of participants were “very willing/willing” to proceed with CT; however, after disclosure, willingness decreased to 69.6% (P<.0001). After disclosure, 5.6% of participants said they would refuse CT. Most participants (90.3%) said they wanted to be informed of potential malignancy risks.
“We found that approximately half of participating parents were aware of the potential lifetime increase in malignancy risk associated with CT and most underestimated the risk of CT,” researchers wrote. “In addition, despite many parents demonstrating a decreased willingness to proceed with CT imaging after risk disclosure, almost all were agreeable to pursuing a discussion with their physician in the face of clinical need. Because almost all parents expressed a preference to be informed of potential risks before proceeding with recommended imaging, we strongly recommend that physicians be well-informed of the benefits and potential risks of CT imaging.”
Disclosure: The study was supported in part by the Pediatric Research Academic Initiative at SickKids Emergency program and the Hospital for Sick Children.
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