Resources for Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

CT scan alert for pacemakers

newsblogs.chicagotribune.com

The Food and Drug Administration is warning doctors and patients that electronic devices such as pacemakers, cardiac defibrillators and insulin pumps can malfunction when people get computed tomography (CT) scans.

The popular scans can cause medical devices to shock patients or start sending inaccurate signals, the FDA said in a public health alert issued Monday afternoon.

The agency has received six confirmed reports of devices that malfunctioned after a CT scan and another nine reports of suspected problems, FDA spokeswoman Karen Riley said. No deaths occurred.

Also, a study published last year by researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that CT scans frequently interfered with electronic heart devices, although the impact was temporary.

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