What physicians think about the need for informed consent for communicating the risk of cancer from low-dose radiation
Karsli T et al. - In a study to determine if informed consent should be obtained for communicating risk of radiation-induced cancer from radiation-based imaging, most physicians do not know if pts are informed about cancer risk from radiation-based imaging in their institutions. They believe that informed consent for communicating the risk of radiation-induced cancer should be obtained from pts undergoing radiation-based imaging. Methods- Prospective survey of 456 physicians affiliated with 3 tertiary hospitals was done by means of a written questionnaire.
- Physicians were asked to state their subspecialty, number of yrs in practice, frequency of referral for CT scanning, level of awareness about the risk of radiation-induced cancer associated with CT, knowledge of whether such information is provided to pts undergoing CT, and opinions about the need for obtaining informed consent as well as who should provide information about radiation-induced cancer risk to pts.
- Physicians were also asked to specify their preference among different formats of informed consent for communicating potential risk of radiation-induced cancer.
Results- Most physicians stated that informed consent should be obtained from pts undergoing radiation-based imaging (71.3%, 325/456) and the radiology department should provide information about risk of radiation-induced cancer (54.6%, 249/456).
- Informed consent format that most physicians agreed with included modifications to the National Institute of Environmental Health Services report on cancer risk from low-dose radiation (20.2%, 92/456) or included information on risk of cancer from background radiation vs that from low-dose radiation (39.5%, 180/456).
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