Are too many CT scans being done to evaluate patients with headaches?
About a quarter of brain scans performed in Ontario in 2005 were ordered by family physicians for patients suffering from headaches, according to a study by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Toronto.
Yet only a tiny fraction of these scans - 2 per cent - uncovered an abnormality, such as a brain tumour, that could potentially explain the head pain. John You, the principal investigator, suggests that efforts should be made to minimize unnecessary scans because they expose patients to ionizing radiation which can increase the odds of developing cancer. The risk is "very small" but shouldn't be ignored, concludes the study published in the American Journal of Medicine.
"For every 20,000 people who get a single CT scan of the head, the projection is that one additional person will die of cancer as a result," Dr. You said in an e-mail.
"The vast majority of headaches will not have a serious underlying cause, but can still cause a lot of disability," he added. "In most cases, no imaging tests will be needed, and the focus should be on talking with your doctor about options for treatment."