Should Radon Counseling Wait on Evidence?

[摘要] In this issue of the JABFM, Schwartz and colleagues1 remind family physicians of the hazards of the radioactive gas, radon, which is the second leading cause of lung cancer nationally—and the leading cause among nonsmokers. These researchers conducted a mailed survey of 350 family physicians in North Dakota (response rate of 61%) and found that the majority of North Dakotan family doctors knew radon was radioactive.1 However, while ND’s geology emits high levels of radon, most of these family doctors (67%) do not counsel on the hazards of radon among their patients who smoke.1 While about a third of surveyed family physicians (35%) had tested their own home for radon, only about half of these (54%)1 counsel their patients on the hazards of this gas.

[学科分类] 过敏症与临床免疫学