Effective dose estimation in whole-body multislice CT in paediatric trauma patients

The number of multislice CT (MSCT) scans performed in polytraumatized children has increased rapidly. There is growing concern regarding the radiation dose in MSCT and its long-term consequences, especially in children.

To determine the effective dose to polytraumatized children who undergo whole-body MSCT.

A total of 51 traumatized children aged 0-16 years underwent a polytrauma protocol CT scan between November 2004 and August 2006 at our institution. The effective dose was calculated retrospectively by a computer program (CT-Expo 1.5, Hannover, Germany).

The mean effective dose was 20.8 mSv (range 8.6-48.9 mSv, SD +/- 7.9 mSv). There was no statistically significant difference in the effective dose between male and female patients.

Whole-body MSCT is a superior diagnostic tool in polytraumatized children with 20.8 mSv per patient being a justified mean effective dose. In a potentially life-threatening situation whole-body MSCT provides the clinicians with relevant information to initiate life-saving therapy. Radiologists should use special paediatric protocols that include dose-saving mechanisms to keep the effective dose as low as possible. Further studies are needed to examine and advance dose-saving strategies in MSCT, especially in children.