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. 2022 Mar 5:15:443-453.
doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S351696. eCollection 2022.

Evaluation of Pediatric Imaging Modalities Practices of Radiologists and Technologists: A Survey-Based Study

Abdulrahman Tajaldeen  1 , Osama A Mabrouk Kheiralla  1 , Salem Saeed Alghamdi  2 , Haney Alsleem  1 , Abdullah Al-Othman  3 , Elfatih Abuelhia  1 , Rowa Aljondi  2
Affiliations

Evaluation of Pediatric Imaging Modalities Practices of Radiologists and Technologists: A Survey-Based Study

Abdulrahman Tajaldeen et al. J Multidiscip Healthc. .

Abstract

Introduction: Radiation protection for pediatric patients is the main concern in pediatric computed tomography (CT) due to their sensitive organs, such as the brain and the thyroid glands. Accordingly, an optimization of pediatric CT practices is vital to minimize the radiation dose for this population.

Aim: To assess the pediatric CT practices of radiologists and technologists in a CT unit.

Materials and methods: The study was conducted among 26 hospitals, located in various regions in Saudi Arabia. A total of 200 hard copies of the questionnaire were distributed manually and were collected for analysis. In total, 117 completed surveys were gathered from technologies, while 49 were gathered from radiologists.

Results: In the case of infants with hydrocephalus, 65% of the radiologists ordered an ultrasound (US), 24% ordered a head CT scan, and 10% ordered a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and general X-ray for diagnosis. For pediatric patients complaining of persistent headache, 59% and 27% of the radiologists recommended CT and MRI, respectively, for diagnosis.

Conclusion: Most of the radiologists utilize CT head scan to diagnose persistent headache (by 59%) and ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) malfunction (by 41%) in pediatric patients compared with the other modalities. The use of CT can increase the risk of later malignancy among pediatric patients due to radiation exposure. Alternative imaging modalities such as US and MRI (non-ionized radiation) should be considered to reduce the ionizing radiation hazards and optimize the current practices of radiologists. Most of the technologists follow radiation protection protocols in this study as 63% of the technologists used lead apron for pediatric patient's protection. Radiation awareness training for the technologists could improve the knowledge about the benefits of using lead apron and reduce the radiation risks in pediatric patients.

Keywords: computed tomography; pediatric; radiation dose; radiologists.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest for this work and declare no conflict of interest in preparing this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The experience levels of the participants in the survey, including those in radiology years R1–R4, radiologists, and consultants.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The experience levels of the technologists who participated in the survey, including those in their internship year and those with less than 1 year to more than 10 years of experience.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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