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Compendium of national guidelines for imaging of the pediatric patient
Cameron H Williams1, Donald P Frush
1Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.
Insights
Concerns about radiation exposure and healthcare costs necessitate evaluating pediatric imaging guidelines. This study compiled 155 national guidelines to support clinical care and identify research needs.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Radiology
- Evidence-Based Medicine
- Healthcare Policy
Background:
- Growing concerns exist regarding the long-term health effects of ionizing radiation in children from diagnostic imaging.
- Increased pressure to reduce healthcare spending highlights the need for accessible, evidence-based guidelines for pediatric imaging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compile a comprehensive list of national medical organization-endorsed guidelines for pediatric imaging.
- To provide a resource for clinicians, policymakers, and educators regarding pediatric diagnostic imaging.
Main Methods:
- Searched multiple resources, including the National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) and major medical organization websites.
- Identified documents containing specific recommendations for imaging in the pediatric population.
Main Results:
- A total of 155 guidelines from 40 medical organizations met the inclusion criteria.
- These guidelines were compiled into a comprehensive compendium.
Conclusions:
- The generated compendium serves to guide clinical practice, inform policy, and enhance healthcare professional education.
- It can also identify gaps and redundancies in current recommendations, prompting guideline reassessment and development.
Background:
Diagnostic imaging plays an integral role in diagnosing and managing many pediatric disorders, but there is growing concern in both the medical community and the general public about the long-term health effects of ionizing radiation in children, as well as utilization of imaging evaluation. These concerns, coupled with increasing pressure to reduce national health care spending, underscore the need for an assessment of readily available guidelines, especially evidence-based guidelines, for imaging in children.
Objective:
To generate a list of national medical organization-endorsed guidelines with provisions for imaging the pediatric patient.
Materials And Methods:
Several resources, including the National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) and the Web sites of major medical organizations, were searched for documents that contained specific recommendations for imaging in the pediatric population.
Results:
A total of 155 guidelines from 40 medical organizations met inclusion criteria and are represented in our compendium.
Conclusions:
The compendium generated in this study can be used to direct clinical care, inform policy development and improve education of health care personnel. Additionally, the compendium can be used to identify areas of redundancy or deficiency, which may stimulate the reassessment of existing recommendations as well as the creation of new guidelines.
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