Guest guest Posted August 20, 2001 Report Share Posted August 20, 2001 http://www.mercola.com/2001/aug/15/mri.htm Six Year Old Killed During MRI Outside of the X-ray, perhaps no other medical examination is as well known or as safe as the magnetic resonance imaging test, which is conducted eight million times a year in the United States on patients ranging from people with brain tumors to famous athletes with knee injuries. But today, officials at the Westchester Medical Center announced that something went horribly wrong on Friday with an MRI test on a boy, 6, who had just undergone surgery. Even though no metal objects are supposed to be in the testing area, because they will be pulled toward the 10- ton machine by its powerful electromagnet, a metal oxygen tank somehow made it into the examination room. The tank, about the size of a fire extinguisher, became magnetized, then flew through the air at 20 to 30 feet per second and fractured the boy's skull. The boy died on Sunday. And today, an autopsy conducted by the Westchester County Medical Examiner's office confirmed that he had died of blunt force trauma, severe hemorrhaging and a contusion to the brain. The hospital and the State Department of Health are investigating, and the Westchester District Attorney's office is also reviewing the case. An MRI generates images of the body using strong magnetic fields and a computer. And since its introduction on a widespread scale within the last two decades, it has generally been considered very safe, according to Dr. Emanuel Kanal, a professor of radiology and neuroradiology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Still, there have been several MRI accidents, some of them fatal, involving metal objects as small as paper clips, Dr. Kanal said. One woman who underwent an MRI died because of an implanted aneurysm clip in her brain. Another who forgot to pull a hairpin out of her hair required a procedure to extract the hairpin after the pin traveled up her nose and lodged in her pharynx. And in Rochester last year, an MRI magnet pulled a .45-caliber gun out of the hand of a police officer and the gun shot a round that lodged in a wall. The accident in Westchester also comes on the heels of a recent article in The American Journal of Roentgenology about the potential dangers of oxygen tanks being brought into MRI testing areas. In that study, researchers found that there had been five such accidents in 15 years, including four in the last three years, mostly involving patients on life support who have been wheeled into an examination room with an oxygen tank nearby. "MRI is safe, but if something goes wrong, it can go very wrong," said Dr. Chaljub, a radiologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and the study's primary researcher. Indeed, the power of the MRI Is so strong that in one case, a janitor who was buffing the floor of the examination floor suffered a wrist fracture because of the magnetic pull on the cleaning equipment, Dr. Chaljub said. On Friday morning, the boy, sedated, was placed inside the MRI - a General Electric Signa machine - with his head in the center of the machine. At some point, the tank was "introduced into the exam room" and, magnetized, was drawn to the center of the room, striking the boy, according to a hospital news release. New York Times July 31, 2001 DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT: Normally, MRI scans are far safer than CT scans. The radiation present in a CT scan or even a traditional X-ray, has been clearly associated with an increase in both cancer and heart disease. Although getting hit with a blunt object hurled from the magnetic field is a remote possibility, it is also likely that the strong magnetic fields also have adverse reactions on many people that are just not yet realized. At this time, to the best of my knowledge, there are no studies documenting this association. However, if I run across some I will be sure and post them. In the meantime, if you are not familiar with the dangers of CT scans and X-rays I would encourage you to read the links below. One of the many lessons that could be learned or reinforced by this sad tragedy is that no medical procedure is completely safe and without risk. As such, it is much better to avoid them whenever possible. Related Articles: X-Rays, Cancer and Heart Disease Reconsider Having Screening Full-Body CT Scans Ultrafast CT Scans - Godsend or Scam? 1500 Children Die Every Year From CT Scans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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