People With Minor Injuries Are Increasingly Getting CT Scans

If you fall off a curb, bop your head and go to the ER to make sure you're OK, there's a good chance you'll be trundled off for a CT scan.

That might sound comforting, but people with injuries minor enough that they get sent home are increasingly being given computed tomography scans, a study finds. That's despite efforts to reduce the unnecessary use of CTs, which use radiation and increase the lifetime risk of cancer.

There's been a lot of focus on excess use of CTs in children, but much less on adults who go to the emergency department for things that turn out to be no big deal.

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