Congress:
EuroSafe Imaging 2017
Keywords:
Dosimetric comparison, Radiation safety, Dosimetry, CT-Angiography, CT, Thorax, Head and neck, Abdomen, Action 2 - Clinical diagnostic reference levels (DRLs), Action 3 - Optimisation, diagnostic reference levels, image quality, Quality assurance
Authors:
A. Magistrelli, V. Cannatà, E. Genovese, M. Cirillo, R. Lombardi, P. SCHINGO, P. Toma
DOI:
10.1594/esi2017/ESI-0006
Background/Introduction
Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRL) of procedures involving ionizing radiation are important tools to optimizing radiation doses delivered to patients and in identifying cases where the levels of doses are unusually high.
This is particularly important for paediatric patients undergoing computed tomography (CT) examinations as these examinations are associated with relatively high-dose.
In 1996,
the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) introduced Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRL) standardized at the 75th percentile of the imaging examination dose.
In 2001,
it promoted the use of local DRL to achieve best practice and obtain optimum range of values for the specific medical imaging protocols so that the radiation doses to patients are as low as compatible with the clinical purpose and the ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) principle.
The need for a DRL is judged on the basis of collective dose to the paediatric population: this can include both the most common low dose examinations and the less common high dose examinations.
CT provides the highest contribution (typically up to 60 %) of the total collective effective dose from all paediatric medical imaging.
The aim of this study is to review our local DRL (LDRL) in pediatric CT and to compare them to values proposed by PiDRL guidelines and recent international litterature.