CNN.com – Study: More Americans too fat for X-rays, scans
More and more obese people are unable to get full medical care because they are either too big to fit into scanners, or their fat is too dense for X-rays or sound waves to penetrate, radiologists reported Tuesday.
With 64 percent of the U.S. population either overweight or obese, the problem is worsening, but it represents a business opportunity for equipment makers and hospitals, said Dr. Raul Uppot, a radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Our population, or a majority of it, has eaten itself into livestock proportions. Now I frequently have patients I cannot CT.
Oh, take your ‘do a history and a careful physical exam and you won’t need as many scans’ and stick it in your ear. I defy you to clear the c-spine of a 450 pound patient with tingling in the arms. Won’t fit in the CT or the MRI, even the ‘open MRI’.
Weighty problem. Not funny.
