Pregnant women are exposed to twice the amount of radiation from medical tests as they were 10 years ago, a U.S. study found.

Dr. Elizabeth Lazarus of the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University in Providence, R.I., said overall, the levels of radiation to which pregnant women are exposed are low, but they do carry a slight risk of harm to the developing fetus.

The investigators found that from 1997 to 2006, the number of imaging studies -- nuclear medicine, computed tomography and plain-film X-rays -- performed on pregnant women increased by 121 percent per year, while the number of patients increased by 89 percent per year. The greatest increases were in the number of CT exams, which deliver more radiation than many other radiologic procedures.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.  // Copyright 2007 by United Press International



Publication date: 28 November 2007   

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