[Exclusive] Abuse of CT scans

[Anchor]

When examining diseases, there are cases where a CT scan is performed.

CT is a computed tomography scan that exposes patients to radiation.

In the case of chest CT, patients are exposed to radiation ranging from 1.2 to 6.6 millisieverts.

This is up to 33 times the exposure compared to X-rays.

Infants and young children in their growth phase are more sensitive to radiation due to active cell division.

Therefore, in the United States, guidelines have been implemented to minimize radiation exposure during examinations for pediatric patients.

However, in South Korea, some hospitals have been found to be abusing CT scans for children with pneumonia.

Reporter Hong Seong-hee has the exclusive report.

[Report]

Children visiting hospitals with coughs and runny noses.

It is not uncommon for these symptoms to lead to pneumonia.

[Parent of a pediatric patient: "My child had pneumonia before. They recovered from pneumonia. (This time?) Yes. After the pneumonia, they had otitis media and a runny nose."]

The National Health Insurance Service investigated the CT scan practices for pediatric pneumonia patients under 12 years old for one year starting in August 2023.

According to data obtained by KBS, there are over 1.02 million pediatric pneumonia patients nationwide.

Among them, over 4,200 children underwent CT scans.

This is nearly three times the number from a year ago.

There were also medical institutions with particularly high rates of CT scans.

Hospital A performed CT scans on all 17 pediatric pneumonia patients.

Hospital B scanned 22 out of 25 patients, while Hospital C scanned 16 out of 19 pediatric pneumonia patients.

There were 22 institutions that performed CT scans on more than 30% of pediatric patients.

The average cost per CT scan is 120,000 won, raising suspicions that some hospitals are profiting from the radiation exposure risks.

[Park Jong-hun/Director of Benefit Management,National Health Insurance Service: "If the severity is high, CT can be used, but it may be unusual for a specific institution to use it on 100% of pneumonia patients. I think there may be some abuse in certain institutions."]

Pneumonia can be diagnosed without a CT scan through methods such as auscultation or sputum tests.

[Jang Kwang-cheon/Pediatrician, National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital: "Auscultation findings are the most reliable objective findings. There are sounds like wheezing that can be heard during auscultation. X-rays are also taken when coughing persists."]

The National Health Insurance Service plans to check the other benefit claims of medical institutions with high CT scan rates and will request the Ministry of Health and Welfare to consider administrative actions or sanctions.

This is Hong Seong-hee from KBS News.