Legal News for California Medical Malpractice Attorneys. 1 Alabama hospital and 3 L.A-area hospitals have been noted by the FDA for over-exposing over 270 patients to radiation through CT scans.
FDA investigates hospitals that administered excessive radiation through CT scans.
Los Angeles, CA—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) http://www.fda.gov is currently in the process of investigating a series of medical cases in which over 270 patients were exposed to excess amounts of radiation when undergoing CT brain perfusion scans.
This issue was first recognized in October, when it was stated that over an 18-month period, 206 patients who underwent CT scans at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles were exposed to 8 times the normal amount of radiation used in conducting these computed tomography scans.
Another incident occurred at the Glendale Adventist Medical Center in Glendale, California, in which over a period of 10 months, 10 patients were exposed to 4 times the standard amount of radiation, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
It was also reported that a 59-year old woman from Alabama allegedly reported having a bald strip on her head a few weeks after receiving a CT scan. She later realized through her medical records that she had been exposed to a higher degree of radiation than seen in the patients from Cedars-Sinai. Patients who have been exposed to these high levels of radiation reported symptoms such as hair loss and skin redness after the procedure was completed.
The FDA will continue investigating the cause of these medical accidents with state and local health authorities, professional organizations as well as manufacturers including GE and Toshiba, whose healthcare equipment was used by these medical institutions. The FDA has issued a set of recommendations to prevent further incidents involving excessive radiation exposure.
