title: A survey of routine head CT protocols in Australia.
abstract: The choice of scanning protocol in CT will affect the dose delivered to the patient. A nationwide survey of CT operators was carried out in Australia in 1994 to determine the variation in routine head CT protocols. Only 29% of respondents used the supraorbitomeatal (SOM) baseline and thus avoided scanning the eyes. At 74% of sites, the routine protocol included scans both before and after injection of contrast. However, the post-contrast protocol differed from that used in the pre-contrast series in a number of cases. Where 5 mm thick slices were used, the mAs was 16% higher than for 10 mm thick slices. Increased awareness of the influence of baseline, slice thickness/spacing and accompanying exposure factors on patient dose may lead to greater standardization of head CT scanning protocols.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Newcastle, Australia.
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Shah
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D003287:Contrast Media; D005123:Eye / Q000528:radiation effects; D006257:Head / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media