title: Variation in radiographic protocols in paediatric interventional cardiology.
abstract: The aim of this work is to determine current radiographic protocols in paediatric interventional cardiology (IC) in the UK and Ireland. To do this we investigated which imaging parameters/protocols are commonly used in IC in different hospitals, to identify if a standard technique is used and illustrate any variation in practice. A questionnaire was sent to all hospitals in the UK and Ireland which perform paediatric IC to obtain information on techniques used in each clinical department and on the range of clinical examinations performed. Ethical and research governance approval was sought from the Office for Research Ethics Committees Northern Ireland and the individual trusts. A response rate of 79% was achieved, and a wide variation in technique was found between hospitals. The main differences in technique involved variations in the use of an anti-scatter grid and the use of additional filtration to the radiation beam, frame rates for digital acquisition and pre-programmed projections/paediatric specific programming in the equipment. We conclude that there is no standard protocol for carrying out paediatric IC in the UK or Ireland. Each hospital carries out the IC procedure according to its own local protocols resulting in a wide variation in radiation dose.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health and Rehabilitation Technologies, Institute of Nursing and Health Research, School of Health Sciences, University of Ulster at Jordanstown, Shore Road, Newtownabbey, County Antrim, UK.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: McFadden
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Winder
mesh_terms: D062906:Cardiac Catheters / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D003625:Data Collection; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015641:Radiography, Interventional / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology