It's estimated 6-percent of all pediatric visits to the
emergency room are stomach-pain related. Ruling out conditions
like appendicitis can include the use of high-tech tools. In a
new study, just published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers
gathered E.R. data over a ten-year period between 1998 and 2008
for patients age 19 and under. In 1998, fewer than 1-percent of
all pediatric patients were scanned with CT or computed
tomography - to evaluate abdominal pain. 10 years later, the
rate of CT use rose to 15.4 percent. CT scanning combines
special x-ray equipment with sophisticated computers to produce
multiple images or pictures of the inside of the body. These
scans provide clearer, more revealing views of organs, bones,
soft tissue and blood vessels than simple x-rays-but there has
been concern over radiation exposure especially in children.
This past May, the Food and Drug administration asked the makers
of these devices to factor in the safety of pediatric patients
when using existing machines or des