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Radiation dose reduction in CT-guided spine biopsies does not reduce diagnostic yield
K A Shpilberg1, B N Delman1, L N Tanenbaum1
1From the Department of Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Health System, New York, New York.
Background And Purpose:
CT-guided biopsy is the most commonly used method to obtain tissue for diagnosis in suspected cases of malignancy involving the spine. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that a low-dose CT-guided spine biopsy protocol is as effective in tissue sampling as a regular-dose protocol, without adversely affecting procedural time or complication rates.
Materials And Methods:
We retrospectively reviewed all patients who underwent CT-guided spine procedures at our institution between May 2010 and October 2013. Biopsy duration, total number of scans, total volume CT dose index, total dose-length product, and diagnostic tissue yield of low-dose and regular-dose groups were compared.
Results:
Sixty-four patients were included, of whom 31 underwent low-dose and 33 regular-dose spine biopsies. There was a statistically significant difference in total volume CT dose index and total dose-length product between the low-dose and regular-dose groups (P < .0001). There was no significant difference in the total number of scans obtained (P = .3385), duration of procedure (P = .149), or diagnostic tissue yield (P = .6017).
Conclusions:
Use of a low-dose CT-guided spine biopsy protocol is a practical alternative to regular-dose approaches, maintaining overall quality and efficiency at reduced ionizing radiation dose.
