Attitude towards MRI safety during pregnancy

Abstract

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been in clinical use for more than two decades. At the time of introduction of this important diagnostic tool there were many concerns about its safety and the effects of the different types of magnetic fields utilized in MRI on the body tissues. Safety of MRI in pregnancy however was and still is one of the important concerns. There is an extensive body of literature on the issue of safety of MRI during pregnancy and overall the results indicate that there is no significant evidence of harm or injury to the fetus from exposure to a magnetic field during MRI. However there is at the same time no proof of safety and further research in this area is still needed to reach a solid conclusion. It is not easy to ascertain safety of MRI during pregnancy or otherwise with retrospective or prospective data because there are a near infinite number of possible combinations of factors that influence the risk such as static magnetic field strength gradient magnetic field and radiofrequency energy variability and scan time. Furthermore confounding factors responsible for the high rate of spontaneous abortion in humans are not possible to control throughout pregnancy when studying exposure to magnetic field in early pregnancy. With the growing indications for MRI during pregnancy there is a real necessity for an established institutional policy controlling exposure of pregnant patients to a magnetic field. Such a policy should provide appropriate medical care to the mother and fetus and avoid exposure of the unborn fetus to undue risk. We studied the attitude of radiology staff in Saudi Arabia towards safety issues concerning MRI during pregnancy. (excerpt)