The use of CT is more and more frequent, both for better and better definitions, and for costs which are gradually knocked down and the use of this diagnostic technique is increasing also in the pediatric population. But it is necessary to keep in mind that the doses of absorbed radiations are much higher than the ones of a traditional X-ray: for example, a chest CT implies an irradiation 50 times higher than the one of a traditional stomach X-ray. The authors of the article, considering Japanese data on atomic bomb survivors, think that about 1.5-2% of all cancers in the USA can be ascribed to CT performance. It is a hypothesis, since direct epidemiological data are not available, but in any case it is a hypothesis which should make us reflect.
Probably, the use of CT is excessive, often repeated without a real need, sometimes ascribable to a defensive medicine more than a diagnostic need. The solution offered by the authors ranges in many fields: the purchase of more modern scanners and then with a lower need of irradiation, an alternative use of ultrasonography and magnetic resonance, CT performance only when it is really necessary.
