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Updated: Oct 27, 2025
X-ray Dose Reduction through Adaptive Exposure in Fluoroscopic Imaging
Published on: September 11, 2011
Effect of focused protocol on reducing radiation dose for children who require computed tomography for suspected
Suzanne Roberts1, Bernard Goldwasser2, Abigail F Nixon1
1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Emergency Medicine, Jacobi Medical Center, Bronx, NY, United States of America.
Background:
Despite efforts to incorporate ultrasound into the evaluation of children for appendicitis, computed tomography (CT) is often used to aid in its diagnosis. CT scans, however, expose children to a considerable amount of radiation. In 2017, our institution began using a height-based Focused CT protocol for children with suspected appendicitis in need of CT.
Objective:
To compare the radiation dose received by children with suspected appendicitis who underwent a Standard CT of the abdomen and pelvis (CTAP) with that of a Focused CT.
Methods:
We conducted a retrospective study of children <18 years who underwent a CT scan for suspected appendicitis (2014-2020). We included all patients whose indication for CT was "appendicitis" or "right lower quadrant pain" and excluded those whose CT scan record lacked a radiation dose report. The effective radiation dose delivered was calculated using the dose-length product from the dose report. We compared the effective dose of those who received a Standard CTAP to those who received a Focused CT. To account for differences in radiation dose over time and by CT scanner, analyses were adjusted for CT dose index volume (CTDIvol) and size-specific dose estimate (SSDE) using quantile regression.
Results:
A total of 474 patients who underwent CT were included. Prior to CT, 362(76%) had received an ultrasound. In total, 309(65%) patients underwent a Standard CTAP and 165(35%) underwent a Focused CT. The appendix was identified in 259(84%) Standard CTAPs compared to 151(92%) Focused CTs (p = 0.02). Compared to the Standard CTAP, children who received a Focused CT were exposed to a significantly lower effective dose (relative difference: CTDI-adjusted -13%[95% CI:-21,-5]; SSDE-adjusted -14%[95% CI:-24,-3]).
Conclusions:
Our height-based Focused CT protocol reduces radiation for children undergoing CT evaluation for suspected appendicitis without sacrificing diagnostic accuracy. Further study is needed to validate these findings at other institutions.
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