COVID Information | ‘One CT scan equal to 300-400 chest X-rays’: AIIMS Chief explains how CT scan ups cancer risk

New Delhi| Jagran News Desk: The country has been witnessing a massive surge in coronavirus cases. Amidst this, many people are opting for CT scans. However, on Monday, AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria warned about the misuse of CT scans and said that the overuse of CT scans can increase the risk of cancer in patients.

Guleria warned that there is no point in conducting CT scans for mild cases. Adding further, he said that one CT scan is equal to 300-400 chest X-rays.

Dr Guleria was quoted saying to news agency PTI, “1 CTScan = 300-400 Chest X-rays! With frequent CTs, the risk of cancer in later life increases, for youngsters.”

He also said that in cases of mild to moderate infection, people should not take CT scan as there will be some patches which result in high risk of having cancer.

A lot of people are getting CT scans done and deems it important to get CT scans done if their Covid tests turn out to be positive, says Dr Guleria. He further said that a study has shown that 30-40 per cent of asymptomatic patients have shown patches, and that got cleared without any treatment. However, for mild patients, there is no need for a CT scan.

What is a CT scan?

A CT scan is an X-ray scan that is done through the computers and rotating X-ray machine which gives a more clear image of the body than normal X-ray images.

Why is a CT scan conducted?

A CT scan is conducted to diagnose the diseases like infection, bone fracture, tumour, internal swelling and other diseases.

Talking about the coronavirus cases in the country, India reported 3.68 lakh fresh case of COVID-19 and 3,417 deaths in the last 24 hours.