Dose levels from thoracic and pelvic examinations in two pediatric radiological departments in Norway - a comparison study of dose-area product and radiographic technique.
BACKGROUND
pediatric doses expressed in dose-area product (DAP) can be retrieved from only a few publications; most of which correlate DAP to patient size or large age spans. In clinical practice age is often the only available parameter describing the patient, and thus, evaluation of dose levels in pediatric radiology on the basis of DAP related to age alone would be useful in optimization work.


OBJECTIVE
to provide comparable data on age-related DAP from thoracic and pelvic radiological examinations of children, and evaluate the usefulness of comparing age-related DAP and radiographic technique between systems to identify areas with potential for optimization.


METHODS
DAP, age, and radiographic technique were registered for 575 thoracic examinations and 371 pelvic examinations of children from newborn up to 14 years of age in groups with an age span of 1 year, performed with two digital flat-panel systems and one computed radiography system.


RESULTS
DAP varies from 2.2 to 54.0 mGycm(2) for thoracic examinations, and from 4.6 to 532.5 mGycm(2) for pelvic examinations. There are significant differences in DAP between systems and departments due to differences in technique, equipment, and staff.


CONCLUSIONS
this study provides comparable data on age-related DAP from thoracic and pelvic radiological examinations of children, which could be used as an input to estimate diagnostic reference levels. The comparison between systems of DAP and radiographic technique has proven useful in identifying areas where there may be a potential for optimization.
Sæther
Hilde Kjernlie
HK
Diagnostic Physics Section, The Interventional Centre, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. hilde.saether@oslo-universitetssykehus.no
Lagesen
Bente
B
Trægde Martinsen
Anne Catrine
AC
Holsen
Eva Platou
EP
Øvrebø
Kirsti Marie
KM
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009664:Norway; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000379:methods; D010388:Pelvis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic / Q000379:methods*; D011872:Radiology Department, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014963:X-Ray Intensifying Screens