"Although [IFs] may offer the possibility of substantial personal benefit to the participant, more commonly they are false-positive findings that lead to a cascade of testing that presents additional risks and burdens," Lo wrote.

He suggests that researchers develop a plan before going into the study for how they will deal with IFs, including what findings they will share with patients.


For the Mayo Clinic, explained Orme, even for research purposes, a radiologist will look at a patient's exam the same day to determine if any IFs are present. If something is worrisome, that information is relayed to the patient's physician who will then determine the best route to take.

"In imaging research as a whole throughout the country, that isn't always the case," he said. "In some instances, [the image] may be read by a radiologist months and months down the line. Theoretically, you could lose a window to intervene."

The implications of these findings, said Orme, are knowing how common IFs are and how researchers can predict, to some degree, the level of IFs found, based on the type of imaging modality used and the age group.

"If you're looking at a femur [X-ray], it may not have many incidental findings...But with a CT of the abdomen for an older patient, you should realize there may be a lot of incidental findings, and you have to have a mechanism...to deal with those."

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