Assessment of Radiation Doses for Paediatric Head, Chest, and Abdominopelvic Computed Tomography Examinations in a Teaching Hospital in Ghana

• Autorzy: Amedzoame Bernard , Brobbey Isaac Frimpong , Djan Bismark , Acquah Isaac Kwesi , Tetteh Mercy Afadzi

Identyfikatory

DOI

10.2478/pjmpe-2025-0029

• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Introduction: With the increasing number of pediatric computed tomography (CT) examinations, there is a need to optimise protocols for children by adopting examination-specific protocols customised to the patient’s age, size, imaging region, and clinical indication. This study aimed to assess the radiation doses in pediatric CT examinations and compare them to international standards. Material and methods: A cross-sectional retrospective study design was adopted to probe patient records at the radiology department of a teaching hospital in Ghana. Thus, scan parameters, volume computed tomography dose index (CTDI_vol), dose length product (DLP), as well as demographic data, were recorded from 496 pediatric patients (age 0-15 years) undergoing head, chest, and abdominopelvic CT examinations. Local Diagnostic Reference Levels (LDRLs) were established using the 75th percentile of patient dose values for each protocol and age group. These local levels were then compared with DRLs from other studies. Results: Head CT was the most performed examination (35.0%) compared to chest (32.0%) and abdominopelvic (33.0%). The male group recorded the highest (59.1%) percentage of CT examinations compared to the female group. While LDRL values from this study were generally lower than data from other studies, the CTDI_vol and DLP for head scans of patients between 11 and 15 years were found to be higher than the data from other studies. Conclusions: Our study has established LDRLs for standard pediatric CT examinations in the teaching hospital. The LDRLs were generally lower than those reported in other studies, except for head scans in patients aged 11 to 15 years. These findings suggest that there are opportunities for further optimisation of pediatric CT imaging protocols at this facility.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Diagnostic Reference Levels; DRLs; computed tomography; CT; computed tomography dose index; CTDIvol; Dose Length Product; DLP; teaching hospital

• Wydawca: Polskie Towarzystwo Fizyki Medycznej
• Czasopismo: Polish Journal of Medical Physics and Engineering
• Rocznik: 2025
• Tom: Vol. 31, Iss. 3
• Strony: 256--262
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 26 poz., rys., tab.

Twórcy

autor

Amedzoame Bernard

• Department of Medical Imaging Technology and Sonography, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

• https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0345-2880

autor

Brobbey Isaac Frimpong

• Department of Medical Imaging Technology and Sonography, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

• https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1400-2467+

autor

Djan Bismark

• Radiation Protection Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Accra, Ghana

• https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2173-7752

autor

Acquah Isaac Kwesi

• Department of Physics Education, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana

• https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1117-1254

autor

Tetteh Mercy Afadzi

• Radiology Department, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway

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