“We are working with the manufacturer to ensure that proper dosages were administered,” she said. “As I said, there have been no adverse reactions reported to date [due to unnecessary exposure].”
The FDA on Monday also issued interim recommendations regarding excess radiation exposure during CT imaging of the brain and heart, hospital officials said.
The 34 patients received excessive radiation over a 20-month period ending in October, and the hospital is embracing efforts of the government and the manufacturers to ensure that the proper standards are met, Aidem added.
CT scans gained in popularity after being identified as a painless and somewhat affordable way to attain 3-D pictures of the body to evaluate traumas, stomach pain, seizures and chronic headaches.
The announcement comes after federal heath regulators identified an additional 50 patients exposed to dangerous levels of radiation from brain scans at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The FDA issued an initial safety notification in October after learning that 206 patients were exposed to excess radiation at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center over an 18-month period.
“There is no set standard, and that’s what we’re hoping the regulatory agencies will develop,” Aidem said. “That said, different manufactures have different standard amounts of radiation necessary to get that optimum image.”
The average American’s total radiation exposure has nearly doubled since 1980, largely because of CT, or computed tomography, scans, recent studies show. While the radiation and risk from one CT scan is low, it carries a dose 50 to 100 times greater than a traditional X-ray.
