Doctor Exam Trumps C Scan

Are we surprised by this? The problem is, today's doctors grow up with all the fancy tools and don't learn the less glamorous art of OBSERVATION. But watch out for CT scans--lots of radiation. Doctors now count on the PATIENTS to keep track of the various sources of radiation they are getting, unlike, say, in Europe or Korea where all this info is centralized! [In Korea you get all your health info on a flash drive![
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Newswise — Sometimes, a simple bedside exam performed by a skilled physician is superior to a high-tech CT scan, a Loyola University Health System study has found.

Researchers found that physicians' bedside exams did a better job than CT scans in predicting which patients would need to return to the operating room to treat complications such as bleeding.

"The low cost, simple, but elegant neurological exam appears to be superior to a routine CT scan in determining return to the operating room," researchers report in the Journal of Neurosurgery.

Patients typically receive CT scans following open brain surgery to remove tumors, repair aneurysms, treat brain injuries, etc. But practices vary. Some surgeons order CT scans right after surgery. Others wait until the following morning.

There are downsides. CT scans cost hundreds of dollars and expose patients to radiation

Newswise — Sometimes, a simple bedside exam performed by a skilled physician is superior to a high-tech CT scan, a Loyola University Health System study has found.

Researchers found that physicians' bedside exams did a better job than CT scans in predicting which patients would need to return to the operating room to treat complications such as bleeding.

"The low cost, simple, but elegant neurological exam appears to be superior to a routine CT scan in determining return to the operating room," researchers report in the Journal of Neurosurgery.

Patients typically receive CT scans following open brain surgery to remove tumors, repair aneurysms, treat brain injuries, etc. But practices vary. Some surgeons order CT scans right after surgery. Others wait until the following morning.

There are downsides. CT scans cost hundreds of dollars and expose patients to radiation