How much is the effective dose from medical imaging in pediatric patients in the neurosurgery department?

Abstract

Medical imaging with ionizing radiation in pediatric patients is rising, and their radiation sensitivity is 2–3 times more than adults. The objective of this study was to estimate the total effective dose (ED) of all medical imaging by CT scan and plain radiography in patients in pediatric neurosurgery department. Patients with at least one brain CT scan and recorded dose length product (DLP) were included. Patients’ imaging data were collected from the picture-archiving-and-communicating system (PACS) using their national code to find all their medical imaging. Total ED (mSv) from CT scans and plain radiographs were calculated. A total of 300 patients were included, of which 129 were females and 171 males with a mean age of 5.45 ± 4.34 years. Mean DLPs of brain, abdomen, and chest CT were 329.16, 393.06, 284.46 mGy.cm. The most frequent CT scans in these children were brain CT scans with ED range of 0.09 to 47.09 mSv. Total ED due to all CT scans and plain radiographs were in the range of 0.38 to 63.41 mSv. Although the mean DLP of each brain, chest, and abdomen CT of patients was in the range of DRLs reported by previous studies, the patients with numerous CT scans received more radiation doses than mean ED (6.21 mSv between all age groups). The most frequent CT scan was the brain, and the most frequent plain radiographs were chest and lower extremities. It can be concluded that reducing the number of CT scans or plain radiographs by appropriate physical exams or replacing them with modalities that do not use ionizing radiation can reduce ED.