Numbers of CT scans performed on children have increased from 330,000 in 1995 to 1.65 million in 2008. Doctors are more frequently conducting computerized tomography scans in the emergency room as compared to past years. Head injury, abdominal pain and headache were the most common reasons for CT exams of children.

Abdominal CT scans which expose a person to seven times as much radiation as head scans were rarely used in 1995. But now, the use of these scans is used in 15-21% of the cases.

Children are more susceptible to risk of radiations of these scans as compared to adults. They have smaller and delicate organs which are more sensitive to radiations. High exposure to these radiations can develop cumulative radiation damage in them.

Parents must think twice before asking for or agreeing to a CT scan to be on the safer side because exposure to these radiations could lead to many harmful diseases. Exposure to these radiations could also develop cancer among children. A recent research has claimed that most of the radiologists who oversee and interpret CT examinations of children are not trained in pediatric radiology.