Doctors from Memorial University of Newfoundland warn that too many unnecessary CT scans are being performed in Newfoundland and Labrador, according to a report published February 5 by CBC News.
More than 100,000 scans are conducted in the province every year, with a rate of 219 tests per 1,000 people, said Dr. Pat Parfrey, clinical director of Choosing Wisely Newfoundland and Labrador. This rate is the highest in Canada -- 47% higher than the country's average of 149 per 1,000 people, the CBC report said.
CT overuse arises from the ordering of unnecessary tests and an increasing availability of the technology, Parfrey said. But unnecessary scans bring radiation exposure risk and should be evaluated, especially in children and adolescents, according to the CBC article.
![Images show the pectoralis muscles of a healthy male individual who never smoked (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], 28.4; number of cigarette pack-years, 0; forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1], 97.6% predicted; FEV1: forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio, 0.71; pectoralis muscle area [PMA], 59.4 cm2; pectoralis muscle volume [PMV], 764 cm3) and a male individual with a smoking history and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; BMI, 27.5; number of cigarette pack-years, 43.2, FEV1, 48% predicted; FEV1:FVC, 0.56; PMA, 35 cm2; PMV, 480.8 cm3) from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (i.e., CanCOLD) study. The CT image is shown in the axial plane. The PMV is automatically extracted using the developed deep learning model and overlayed onto the lungs for visual clarity.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/03/genkin.25LqljVF0y.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=focalpoint&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)