Answer to Question #4183 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

I am attempting to write an informed consent document that is at a reading level between 7th and 9th grade. How would you suggest I cover "uniform whole body doses" and "background radiation amounts"—this is in reference to DXA (dual energy x-ray absorptiometry) and CT (computed tomography) scans—so that risk is understood? Thanks.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) put together some consent form language that can be obtained, linked to doses from diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine exams. It can be found at the Vanderbilt University RADAR website.  There are many forms that such consent language can take; this is just one example of well-thought-out language that I recommend (credit to Lisa Coronado and colleagues at NIH). They discussed the matter at length (over 18 months) with physicists, physicians, ethicists, community representatives, and others, as I understand it, so that the language would be technically correct and understandable by the majority of the public, even those with limited education. The form has many radiology and nuclear medicine exams, if you wish to use it, but it does not include body CTs, and the doses vary significantly between machines. The wording of the consent language may be helpful to you in any case.

Michael G. Stabin, PhD, CHP