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Reporting Diagnostic Reference Levels for Paediatric Patients Undergoing Brain Computed Tomography
Ali Alhailiy1, Essam Alkhybari1, Sultan Alghamdi2
1Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Alkharj 11942, Saudi Arabia.
Insights
This study establishes diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) for paediatric brain CT scans in Saudi Arabia. The findings show radiation doses are comparable to international levels, highlighting the need for standardized weight groups in paediatric care.
Area of Science:
- Radiology
- Medical Imaging
- Radiation Protection
Background:
- Paediatric brain computed tomography (CT) is essential for diagnosing neurological disorders and head injuries.
- Radiation exposure from paediatric CT scans is a significant concern.
- Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRLs) are crucial for managing and monitoring radiation doses in patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose DRLs for paediatric brain CT examinations specific to Saudi clinical practices.
- To compare these proposed DRLs with existing international DRL studies.
- To assess the effectiveness of current dose optimization strategies in paediatric CT imaging.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective data collection from 225 paediatric patients across three medical cities in Saudi Arabia.
- Inclusion of patient demographics and scanning protocols for analysis.
- Derivation of DRLs for the dose-length product (DLP) across four distinct paediatric age groups.
Main Results:
- Established DRL values (DLP) for paediatric brain CT: newborns (404 mGy cm), 1-5 years (560 mGy cm), 5-10 years (548 mGy cm), and 10-15 years (742 mGy cm).
- The derived DRLs are comparable to or slightly lower than other reported international DRLs.
- Indicated successful implementation of dose optimization strategies in the studied Saudi clinical practices.
Conclusions:
- The study provides essential DRLs for paediatric brain CT in Saudi Arabia, aiding in radiation dose management.
- Current DRLs suggest effective dose optimization measures are in place.
- Emphasized the necessity for international standardization of weight group categories for DRL establishment in paediatric imaging to ensure global comparability.
Abstract:
Brain computed tomography (CT) is a diagnostic imaging tool routinely used to assess all paediatric neurologic disorders and other head injuries. Despite the continuous development of paediatric CT imaging, radiation exposure remains a concern. Using diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) helps to manage the radiation dose delivered to patients, allowing one to identify an unusually high dose. In this paper, we propose DRLs for paediatric brain CT examinations in Saudi clinical practices and compare the findings with those of other reported DRL studies. Data including patient and scanning protocols were collected retrospectively from three medical cities for a total of 225 paediatric patients. DRLs were derived for four different age groupings. The resulting DRL values for the dose-length product (DLP) for the age groups of newborns (0-1 year), 1-y-old (1-5 years), 5-y-old (5-10 years) and 10-y-old (10-15 years) were 404 mGy cm, 560 mGy cm, 548 mGy cm, and 742 mGy cm, respectively. The DRLs for paediatric brain CT imaging are comparable to or slightly lower than other DRLs due to the current use of dose optimisation strategies. This study emphasises the need for an international standardisation for the use of weight group categories in DRL establishment for paediatric care in order to provide a more comparable measurement of dose quantities across different hospitals globally.
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