Congress:
EuroSafe Imaging 2019
Keywords:
Action 7 - Radiation protection of children, Action 8 - Radiation protection training and learning material, Action 13 - Stakeholder engagement and collaboration, Paediatric, Radioprotection / Radiation dose, Nuclear medicine conventional, Radiation safety, Health policy and practice, Education, Education and training, Quality assurance
Authors:
F. Fahey, S. T. Treves, M. Goske, M. Gelfand, M. Parisi, M. Lassmann, B. Sexton-Stallone
DOI:
10.26044/esi2019/ESI-0058
Conclusion and recommendations
Over the past ten years,
the Nuclear Medicine Working Group has helped to standardize the radiopharmaceutical administered activities in the practice of pediatric nuclear medicine across North American and to harmonize these practices with those in Europe. An evaluation by the Nuclear Medicine Global Initiative indicated that those regions that have adopted guidelines for pediatric nuclear medicine,
in general,
have less variability in the practice and lower patient radiation dose than those that have not (10,11).
Some workers have found that the concept of minimum administered activity below which a study may not be acceptable may not be obligatory in all cases.
Figure 5 shows an example of a very young patient receiving a bone scan using 99mTc MDP of more than adequate quality with an administered activity based on body weight much lower (not on minimum dose) than that recommended by the North American Guidelines with an 80% radiation dose reduction.
Moving forward,
the Image Gently Nuclear Medicine Working Group seeks to
- standardize the use of CT in the context of hybrid imaging including PET/CT and SPECT/CT,
- re-evaluate the use of the concept of "minimum administered activity",
- evaluate the use of MRI/PET at it relates to further reduction of administered radiopharmaceutical activities and therefore radiation dose,
- continue to promote and disseminate the current North American Guidelines to enhance imaging in children (Figures 6,7).