In Los Angeles County, Cedars Sinai officials have announced that over 200 patients who underwent CT brain perfusion scans to diagnose strokes were exposed to very high doses of radiation. Over an 18-month period, 206 patients were given eight times the dose that is usually administered during this procedure.
Approximately 40% of the patients who were given the radiation overdoses lost patches of hair. Fortunately, the hair loss seems to be temporary.
Using radiation during a CT scan lets doctors obtain more detailed information. However, excessively high doses can result in radiation poisoning and even cancer. If you believe that you were exposed to high levels of radiation that made you ill, an experienced Los Angeles County medical malpractice lawyer can help you consider your legal options.
The radiation overdoses appear to have been caused by a computer-resetting mistake on the part of the hospital. A "misunderstanding about an embedded default setting" led to "higher than expected" radiation, reported Cedar Sinai officials.
The hospital, which had stopped the scans while it figured out what was causing patient hair loss, has restarted the procedures. Double checks and additional protocols have been instituted to make sure no radiation overdoses happen again.
The Food and Drug Administration is calling on radiologists, CT facilities, emergency physicians, neurosurgeons, neurologists, medical physicists, radiologic technologists, and radiation safety officers to check their own protocols for conducting CT scans to make sure this problem isn't happening elsewhere.
Cedars Sinai has recently come under fire for a number of high profile Los Angeles medical malpractice mistakes. Just last August, a jury awarded $7.3 million to the family of 5-year-old Paris Campen who sustained brain damage because the hospital failed to diagnose and treat him for meningitis.
Last December, movie star Dennis Quaid and his wife reached a $750,000 California medical malpractice settlement agreement with Cedars Sinai over their newborn twins' heparin overdose. In June, the twins settled their medical medical malpractice lawsuit involving injuries to minors against Cedars Sinai for $250,000 each.
Related Web Resources:
Safety Investigation of CT Brain Perfusion Scans: Initial Notification, FDA, October 8, 2009
Cedars-Sinai says error led to radiation overdoses on stroke patients [Updated], Los Angeles Times, October 12, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Cedars Sinai
