Surutilisation de l'imagerie médicale : une approche par principes pour une justification adaptée des examens radiologiques

The use of ionizing radiation in diagnostic radiology is essential in today's medical practice. However, scientists are increasingly alarmed about the growing use of non-necessary and avoidable imaging tests, which seems to become a reality in radiology practice. Specifically, CT-scan (responsible for most of the radiation dose to which the population is exposed through medical examinations) causes irradiation at doses that can be correlated to undue risk of mortality from radiation-induced cancers. The article provides an overview of the ethical issues related to radiation protection posed by the inadequate justification of imaging tests with the aim to bear a reflection on the framing of ionizing radiation exposure of the population in developed countries. The ethical conflict generated by the difficulty of considering, during the episode of medical prescription of tests, the long-term effects compared to the overriding importance given to the individual interests and immediate well-being will be highlighted by a principle-based approach. From this analysis, stems the imperative of a new and holistic vision to propose solutions to the controversies related to the current use of medical imaging.