Radiation Exposure in Operatively Treated Pediatric Femur Fracture Patients

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Orthopedics
• Medical Imaging
• Radiation Oncology

Background:

• Femur fractures in children necessitate medical imaging, including radiographs, fluoroscopy, and often computerized tomography (CT).
• Ionizing radiation (IR) exposure is an inherent risk in the treatment of pediatric femur fractures.
• CT scans represent a significant source of IR in this patient population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify factors contributing to increased IR exposure in children with operatively treated femur fractures.
• To compare IR exposure between pediatric femur fracture patients who underwent CT scans versus those who did not.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study including 38 pediatric patients (<18 years) with operatively treated femur fractures.
• Patients were divided into two groups: those who received one or more CT scans and those who did not.
• Comparison of total quantitative IR exposure, age, BMI, fracture location, fracture type (open/closed), and displacement between groups.

Main Results:

• The operating room (OR) accounted for 75.7% of total IR exposure.
• Patients receiving CT scans had over a 5-fold higher cumulative IR exposure than non-CT patients (P <0.0001).
• The CT group was significantly older (P =0.004) and had a higher BMI (P =0.045).

Conclusions:

• Pediatric femur fracture patients frequently exceed low-level radiation thresholds.
• The use of CT scans is a major determinant of significantly higher IR exposure in this cohort.