[Low-dose chest CT with millimetric thin slices: myth or reality?].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of millimetric thin slices low dose chest CT.


METHODS
Forty one patients underwent a chest CT thin slices (1 mm every 10 mm) exploration using both a 170 milliamperage and a low dose acquisition using 80 mA. The examination were read by 2 senior radiologists specialized in chest imaging without knowledge of acquisition parameters and in a random order. A statistical analysis of interobserver agreement was performed using Kappa analysis. Doses of both acquisition were estimated by compagning the dose length product calculated by the CT software and be using a simulation software.


RESULTS
Excellent interobserver and intermodalities agreements were found. A 53% decrease in dose was estimated with the low dose modality compare to the normal dose.


CONCLUSIONS
Low dose thin slice chest CT using 80 mA has a similar diagnosis accuracy as standard dose thin slice chest CT and delivers half dose of irradiation.
Service de radiologie, CHU de Poitiers, Hôpital Jean Bernard, 2 rue de la Milétrie, 86000 Poitiers. olivier.corneloup@free.fr
O
O
Corneloup
O
O
Delval
F
F
Laurent
M
M
Morin
P
P
Vandermarcq
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002985:Clinical Protocols / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000379:methods; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D011874:Radiometry; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012986:Software Validation; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards