Keywords:
Radiation Protection, Paediatric, Radioprotection / Radiation dose, Thorax, Digital radiography, Radiation safety, Quality assurance, Prospective, Experimental, Performed at one institution
Authors:
C. I. D. C. T. Martins1, F. M. Nogueira2, J. Santos3; 1Lisboa/PT, 2Casal da Barota - Belas/Massamá Norte, Lisboa/PT, 3Coimbra/PT
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2020/C-13721
Purpose
Currently, children have been shown to have a higher relative risk of leukaemia, brain, skin, thyroid, and breast cancer following exposure to ionizing radiation. Thus, there is a greater concern about the harmful effects of diagnostic tests and therapeutic procedures performed with ionizing radiation, such as radiographic examinations (1). Conventional digital radiography is the most frequent diagnostic modality, and chest radiography is the most requested radiological examination in children (2). Although chest radiography is an examination with a relatively low exposure dose (Effective Dose = 0.02 mSv), it is important that all procedures are optimized (3).
Thus, the objective of this study was to develop radiological exposure protocols for chest radiographs in the PA or AP position appropriate to the different weight ranges observed in pediatric patients (0-18 years), to optimize the dose of radiation exposure X.