The Health Risks of Ionizing Radiation From Computed Tomography

Armao, Diane; Smith, Jeffrey K.

doi:10.18043/ncm.75.2.126

Cited by 15 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The study found that many children received high radiation doses from CT. The authors attribute this finding both to the greater use of higher dose CT, such as of the abdomen and pelvis, and to substantial variability in radiation doses (15,16). For example, in this study, among children enrolled in a health maintenance organization, the doses for abdominal CT in children 1-4 years old was 4.8-137 mSv for a single study (15,17).…”

mentioning

confidence: 72%

“…Although it is difficult to imagine modern medicine without CT, there is convincing evidence that a substantial fraction of the approximately 80 million CT studies performed annually in the United States are ordered without sound medical justification. Appropriateness criteria for CT studies are critically important because authoritative sources, including the Radiological Society of North America and the American College of Radiology, suggest that 20%-50% of such studies could be replaced by another type of imaging or not be performed at all (16,22,23).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Debriefing the Brief: It is Time for the Provision of Informed Consent before Pediatric CT

Armao¹,

Ja²,

Semelka³

2015

Radiology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

mentioning

confidence: 72%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Debriefing the Brief: It is Time for the Provision of Informed Consent before Pediatric CT

Armao¹,

Ja²,

Semelka³

2015

Radiology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…population doses from medical radiation sources are at a historic high, having increased by 600% since the 1980s [1-2]. The greatest contributor to the striking increase in population exposure is the CT scan [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A 2013 study in JAMA Pediatrics [14] culled data from a large research network of health maintenance organizations in the United States and found that many children received high radiation doses from CT scans. The authors attribute this finding both to the greater use of higher-dose CT examinations, such as scans of the abdomen and pelvis, and to substantial variability in radiation doses [2, 14]. For example, in one study, among children enrolled in a health maintenance organization, the doses for abdominal CT in children 1–4 years old was 4.8–137 mSv for a single CT scan [13, 15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Toolkit for Pediatric CT Dose Reduction in Community Hospitals

Armao

Hartman

Shea³

et al. 2016

Journal of the American College of Radiology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“Eighty percent of success is just showing up.”Woody AllenPediatric CT radiation dose optimization is a challenging process for pediatric-focused facilities and community hospitals alike. Ongoing experience and trial-and-error approaches to dose reduction in the large academic hospital setting may position these centers to help community hospitals who strive for CT quality improvement. In this pilot project, we describe our hands-on approach to develop a partnership between an academic medical center and a community hospital to develop a toolkit for implementing CT dose reduction. Our aims were to 1) assess the acceptability of an interactive educational program and electronic toolkit booklet, 2) conduct a limited test of the efficacy of the toolkit in promoting knowledge and readiness to change, and 3) assess the acceptability and practicality of a collaborative approach to implementing dose-reduction protocols in community hospitals. In partnering with the community hospital, we found that they had size specific radiation doses 2 to 3 times higher than those at our center. Survey results following a site visit with interactive educational presentations revealed an increase in knowledge, stronger opinions about the health risks of radiation from CT scans, and willingness and perceived ability to reduce pediatric CT doses.

show abstract

“…At the same time radiation exposure of the public from medical sources has grown by approximately 600 % to reach 3.0 mSv per capita per year [16,17] and it is expected that 1 -2 % of all can- cers in the United States will be attributable to CT scans in the future [18 -20]. Although there is little doubt that in most cases the benefits of CT scans far outweigh the risks [5,18] and that dose may not be reduced at the expense of needed diagnostic information [13,21], the high number of unjustified, inappropriate and clinically unnecessary CT studies has garnered considerable media attention and has created substantial public anxiety [3,13].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation of Dose Monitoring Software in the Clinical Routine: First Experiences

Heilmaier

Zuber

Bruijns

et al. 2015

Fortschr Röntgenstr

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose: Radiation exposure of the public as a result of medical imaging has significantly increased during the last decades. To have a tool to register and control patient dose exposure, we implemented dose monitoring software at our institution and first connected our computed tomography (CT) scanners. Materials and Methods: CT dose data from July 2014 to February 2015 was retrospectively analyzed using dose monitoring software. We evaluated a number of scans above predefined dose thresholds ("alerts"), assessed reasons for alerts and compared data of two CT scanners, one located close to the emergency room ("emergency CT scanner") and one mainly used on an outpatient basis ("clinical routine CT scanner"). To check for statistically significant differences between scanners, chi-square-tests were performed. Results: A total of 8883 scans were acquired (clinical routine CT scanner, n = 3415; emergency CT scanner, n = 5468) during which 316 alerts were encountered (alert quota, 4 %). The overall alert quota ranged from 2 -5 % with significantly higher values for the clinical routine CT scanner. Reasons for alerts were high BMI (51 %), patient offcentering (24 %), scan repetition (11 %), orthopedic hardware (9 %), or other (5 %). Scan repetition was necessary significantly more often with the emergency CT scanner (p = 0.019), while high BMI, off-centering and orthopedic hardware were more frequently seen with the clinical routine CT scanner (for all, p < 0.05). There was a good correlation between high body weight and dose above threshold (r = 0.585).

show abstract

The Health Risks of Ionizing Radiation From Computed Tomography

Cited by 15 publications

References 31 publications

Debriefing the Brief: It is Time for the Provision of Informed Consent before Pediatric CT

Debriefing the Brief: It is Time for the Provision of Informed Consent before Pediatric CT

A Toolkit for Pediatric CT Dose Reduction in Community Hospitals

Implementation of Dose Monitoring Software in the Clinical Routine: First Experiences

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About