What Patients Want to Know About CT Radiation Exposure Harm and What Doctors Actually Tell Them: A Gap in Patient-Doctor Communication

Abstract

Abstract Background: CT scan utilizes ionizing radiation poses a danger to the patient's health. Thus, telling the patient about ionizing radiation would be critical in promoting shared decision-making and improving patient-doctor communication. However, few studies have examined this topic broadly. Objectives: study was conducted to identify the frequency of physicians informing patients about the radiation risk before ordering a CT scan, as well as to assess the knowledge, perceptions, and preferences of patients undergoing CT scans in regard to radiation risk. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed between September 2020 and January 2021. The sample was 387 patients who underwent a CT scan at a tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia. We randomly selected every other name using the patient list for a physician to contact them by telephone. Verbal informed consent was obtained. Results: When examining knowledge, 58% of patients knew that CT involves harmful radiation. This knowledge was significantly associated with higher education level and previous experience with CT scans. Regarding doctors’ practice of providing information to patients about the scan, 344 (88.9%) patients indicated that their doctor had explained to them why they needed the scan. Only 28 (7.2%) patients stated that their doctor had mentioned the amount of radiation, and 74 (19.1%) patients indicated that doctors mentioned the risks associated with the radiation of the scan. Almost all patients (96.9%) preferred to be told about why they needed a CT scan. About 94.3% of patients expected to be told about the risks associated with CT scans, and 78.6% preferred to know about the radiation dose. Conclusions: The vast majority of patients who underwent CT scans did not receive enough information about the harm of the scans. However, most of them preferred to know about this harm. Therefore, filling this gap in doctor-patient communication is highly needed.