Child life specialists predict successful MRI scanning in unsedated children 4 to 12 years old

Background

It can be challenging for children to cooperate for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam. General anesthesia is often used to ensure a high-quality image. When determining the need for general anesthesia, many institutions use a simple age cutoff. Decisions on the necessity for anesthesia are often left to schedulers who lack training on determination of patient compliance.

Objective

The study aimed to evaluate whether screening questions administered by certified child life specialists (CCLS) could successfully predict which children could complete an MRI without sedation.

Materials and methods

This is a retrospective, institutional review board approved study. Data was collected as part of a quality improvement program, where a CCLS screened 4- to 12-year-old children scheduled for MRI scanning using a questionnaire. Parent responses to the screening questions, CCLS’s recommendation for scheduling the MRI awake, start and end time for the MRI scan, and scan success were recorded. A predictive model for the CCLS’s recommendation was developed using the child’s age, estimated scan length, scan difficulty, and the parent’s responses to the screening questions. The primary outcome measure was a successfully completed MRI not requiring additional imaging under anesthesia.

Results

Of the 403 screened children, 317 (79%) were recommended to attempt the MRI without anesthesia. The median age of participants was 7 (IQR 4–17) years. Overall, 309 of 317 (97.5%) participants, recommended by the CCLS for the program, met the primary outcome of successful MRI completion on their first attempt. The multivariable regression model which included clinical information about the child’s age, estimated scan length, scan difficulty, and four of the six parent screening questions had excellent performance (area under the curve = 0.89).

Conclusion

Information collected by the CCLS via screening along with the child’s age, the estimated scan length, and difficulty can help predict which children are likely to successfully complete a non-sedate MRI.

Graphical Abstract