1. IAEA survey of paediatric computed tomography practice in 40 countries in Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa: procedures and protocols
- Author
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Jenia, Vassileva, Madan M, Rehani, Kimberly, Applegate, Nada A, Ahmed, Humoud, Al-Dhuhli, Huda M, Al-Naemi, Jamila Salem, Al Suwaidi, Danijela, Arandjic, Adnan, Beganovic, Tony, Benavente, Simone, Dias, Leila, El-Nachef, Dario, Faj, Mirtha E, Gamarra-Sánchez, Juan Garcia, Aguilar, Vesna, Gershan, Eduard, Gershkevitsh, Edward, Gruppetta, Alexandru, Hustuc, Sonja, Ivanovic, Arif, Jauhari, Mohammad Hassan, Kharita, Siarhei, Kharuzhyk, Nadia, Khelassi-Toutaoui, Hamid Reza, Khosravi, Desislava, Kostova-Lefterova, Ivana, Kralik, Lantao, Liu, Jolanta, Mazuoliene, Patricia, Mora, Wilbroad, Muhogora, Pirunthavany, Muthuvelu, Denisa, Nikodemova, Leos, Novak, Aruna S, Pallewatte, Mohamed, Shaaban, Esti, Shelly, Karapet, Stepanyan, Eu-Leong Harvey J, Teo, Naw, Thelsy, Pannee, Visrutaratna, Areesha, Zaman, Dejan, Zontar, Desislava Kostova-Lefterova, Madan Rehani, Nada Abbas Ahmed, Siarhei Kharuzhyk, Nadia Khelassi Toutaoui, kimberly applegate, Dario Faj, Jenia Vassileva, and Ivana Kralik
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Latin Americans ,Asia ,Computed tomography ,Radiation Dosage ,Pediatrics ,Health Services Accessibility ,Radiation Protection ,Paediatric CT ,medicine ,Humans ,Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and imaging ,Medical physics ,Practice Patterns, Physicians' ,Neuroradiology ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,computed tomography ,radiation safety ,pediatric ,Interventional radiology ,General Medicine ,Europe ,Latin America ,Health Care Surveys ,Patient doses ,Africa ,Radiation protection, CT protocols ,Radiology ,business ,Tomography, X-Ray Computed - Abstract
Objective was to survey procedures and protocols in paediatric computed tomography (CT) in 40 less resourced countries. Under a project of the International Atomic Energy Agency, 146 CT facilities in 40 countries of Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America responded to an electronic survey of CT technology, exposure parameters, CT protocols and doses. Modern MDCT systems are available in 77 % of the facilities surveyed with dedicated paediatric CT protocols available in 94 %. However, protocols for some age groups were unavailable in around 50 % of the facilities surveyed. Indication-based protocols were used in 57 % of facilities. Estimates of radiation dose using CTDI or DLP from standard CT protocols demonstrated wide variation up to a factor of 100. CTDI(vol) values for the head and chest were between two and five times those for an adult at some sites. Sedation and use of shielding were frequently reported ; immobilisation was not. Records of exposure factors were kept at 49 % of sites. There is significant potential for improvement in CT practice and protocol use for children in less resourced countries. Dose estimates for young children varied widely. This survey provides critical baseline data for ongoing quality improvement efforts by the IAEA.
- Published
- 2012