Awareness of Risks Associated with the Use of Plain X-Ray, Computed Tomography, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Among Emergency Physicians and Comparison with that of Other Physicians: A Survey from Turkey

BACKGROUND: Increased use of radiological imaging in all departments of medicine, especially in the Emergency Department, requires that physicians have a high level of knowledge regarding commonly used imaging methods and high awareness of the risks of examinations. MATERIAL/METHODS: The physicians were divided into 5 groups according to their specialties as emergency medicine physicians (EMPs), physicians from any specialty of internal sciences, physicians from any specialty of surgical sciences, general practitioners (GPs), and radiologists. A total of 700 physicians answered the questionnaire via email. RESULTS: 15.7% of EMPs reported that they did not routinely perform any risk assessment before requesting computed tomography (CT); the rate was 17.9% for direct radiography and 29.3% for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The proportions of physicians who do not routinely perform risk assessments for direct radiography, CT, and MRI were as follows: 16.4%, 8.6%, and 19.3% in physicians from medical sciences, respectively; 25%, 22.9%, and 35% in physicians from surgical sciences, respectively; 24.3%, 14.3%, and 37.1% in GPs, respectively; and 27.1%, 22.1% and 37.1% in radiologists, respectively. In all radiological examinations, 1.4% of EMPs and ≤1.4% of other physicians routinely explain the risks associated with the imaging method to the patients, and discuss the risks and benefits of the imaging with the patients. CONCLUSIONS: All physicians, including EMPs, need to undergo urgent training to increase their knowledge on risks of imaging methods and discussion of existing risks with patients.