Introduction

Children are more sensitive to the effects of Ionising radiation than adults with a much higher life time cancer risk factor. 

CT provides high quality rapid comprehensive imaging in Trauma patients and has significantly improved the accuracy of the Trauma imaging.

These facts have to be balanced in the decision to CT scan a paediatric trauma patient

Background

Use of CT in polytrauma has increased over last 20 years in paediatrics for several reasons: 

1. CT has become quicker to acquire (good for children as they can’t lie still).

2. CT is more available as Level 1 trauma centres set up across the world.

3. CT has significantly improved the accuracy of the Trauma imaging and re-educated the clinician in their approach to trauma diagnostic and the use of imaging.

3. Clinicians have surprisingly little knowledge of risk of radiation in children – only 15% are familiar with ALARA (Heyer, Hansmann, Peters et al,  Eur J Radiol 2009).

75% of paediatric surgeons thought that dose from CT was comparable to dose from CXR (2007 – Rice, Frush, Farmer, J Paed Surg,2007).

Paediatric trauma imaging is a relatively new field which has evolved from adult trauma imaging. Paediatric CT protocols were initially translated directly from adult protocols.