The surge in computed tomography (CT) imaging in the last two decades has spurred an unintended consequence (apart from increasing patients’ radiation exposure)—an increase in the number of incidental findings, or incidentalomas. These worrisome, unanticipated spots on a scan might indicate malignancy or, as is more often the case, point to a benign finding.

Incidentalomas can be particularly troublesome for pediatric clinicians, says Edward Lee, MD, MPH, from Boston Children’s Hospital Department of Radiology. Lee and his colleagues Sara Vargas, MD, from Boston Children’s Department of Pathology, and Juan Baez, MD, from radiology, recently published the first research on pediatric incidentalomas, focusing on how to manage incidentally detected thyroid nodules on CT exams. …Read More