This has
been
reported by
the
radiologists.
With a
population
inclining
towards
obesity the
problem is
becoming
more severe.
"We noticed
over the
past couple
of years
that obesity
was playing
a role in
our ability
to see these
images
clearly,"
said Dr.
Raul Uppot,
a
radiologist
at
Massachusetts
General
Hospital.
Radiologists
when writing
up reports
state:
"These
images are
limited due
to body
habitus."
for a
subject
whose scans
were not
possible on
grounds of
obesity.
These
include
standard
X-rays,
computer
assisted
X-rays known
as CT scans,
magnetic
resonance
imaging (MRI)
and positron
emission
tomography
(PET). These
scans are
used to look
for tumors,
blood clots,
broken limbs
and other
injuries and
diseased
organs.
"Overall,
7,778 or
0.15 percent
of 5,253,014
reports were
habitus
limited," is
stated in
the August
issue of the
journal
Radiology.
"It
essentially
doubled over
the last 15
years,"
Uppot said.
The
researchers
looked more
closely at
the records
of 200 of
the
patients,
who weighed,
on average,
239 pounds
(108 kg).
"It is a
major issue
because the
patient may
still have a
tumor, the
patient may
have
appendicitis,
the patient
may have
other
inflammatory
processes,"
Uppot said.
"This is
affecting
radiologists
all over the
country."
Ultrasounds
are most
affected,
Uppot said.
"In an obese
person
because the
ultrasound
beam does
not get to
the organs
or get to
them
adequately
enough we
cannot get a
picture. It
looks like a
snowstorm. I
don't know
if you have
seen those
televisions
where it is
just
whiteout? It
looks like
that."
An MRI can
get a good
picture if
the patient
can fit into
the tube or
get onto the
table, Uppot
said. Some
manufacturers
have started
to make MRI
machines
with larger
bore holes,
but with the
cost in the
millions of
dollars per
machine,
only large
groups or
institutions
can afford
them. "It is
a market out
there.
People who
are taking
advantage of
it are
making
money,"
Uppot said.
"We are in
the process
of buying
and
installing
three of
these
machines."
One problem
is with
gastric
bypass
surgery,
where the
patients are
by
definition
obese, Uppot
said.
"If there is
some
complication
abdominal
pain or and
infection or
fever they
are
invariably
at higher
risk of not
being able
to be imaged
with a CT or
MRI," Uppot
said. "For
the surgeon,
he doesn't
want to take
the patient
back to
surgery to
explore to
see what the
problem is,"
he added.
"For the
patient, not
knowing what
is going on
is a big
issue. If
you tell a
patient 'I
am sorry --
we just
can't sit
you on our
CAT
scanner',
that is
devastating
to hear."
The picture
is pretty
dark but it
is true.
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