Cat Scan Kids

When it comes kids and head injuries are we getting to many cat scans? A new study says, "yes."

This isn't so much a don't get a CT scan story, but more of a “sometimes” it's better to do a little of what we call watchful waiting.

According the the CDC, more than half of the children brought to the Emergency Room for head injuries end up getting a cat scan. And although it gives the doctor and parents some very useful information it also gives the child a dose of radiation. And repeated cat scans over time can increase the amount of radiation they are exposed to.

Researchers involved in a new study feel that more watchful waiting might mean less CT scans for children and less exposure to that radiation. According to them, blunt head trauma in children is very common but oftentimes not serious. The problem is that it's sometimes hard to tell which is which. But for some cases they feel that watching a child for a few hours might eliminate the need to get the cat scan. However, they also say that for some more severe cases, especially when children ended up vomiting, ended up losing consciousness at some point or have a memory loss, these are more serious signs that could mean a cat scan is needed sooner rather than later.

So, if you end up in the ER with a banged up child the doctor might want to just observe them for a few hours instead of getting a quick CT scan.