WASHINGTON — When your child’s doctor orders a CT scan, X-ray or similar test, there are two big questions: Is the scan really needed? And if so, will it deliver a child-sized or adult-sized dose of radiation?
That’s the message from the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday, as it took steps to help protect children from getting unneeded radiation from these increasingly common tests.
The FDA is pushing manufacturers to design scanners to minimize radiation exposure for the youngest, smallest patients. And it posted advice on the Internet urging parents to speak up when a doctor orders a scan — to ask if it’s the best option or if there’s a radiation-free alternative — and to track how many their child receives.
“We know imaging is extremely valuable, but we can probably do it with less radiation,” said Dr. Dorothy Bulas of Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, past president of the Society for Pediatric Radiology. The Associated Press
