Variability in Radiation Exposure Among Children Undergoing Abdominal and Head CT

Radiation exposures of >10 mSv are estimated to result in one additional cancer per 1000 individuals. In a retrospective study of patients <20 years of age undergoing computed tomography (CT) scans of the head or abdomen at a tertiary pediatric hospital in 2012, investigators determined median radiation exposure and dose variability. Effective radiation dose absorbed by the patient was determined by using the CT machine's reported radiation dose and adjusting for age, size, and weight.

Of 478 randomly sampled patients (median age, 8 years), the median effective dose for head CT was 2.7 mSv and for abdominal CT was 5.1 mSv. For head CT, the effective dose decreased with age (from 4.0 mSv for patients <1 year of age to 2.0 mSv for those aged 1…