Optimization of CT protocols in Pediatrics was the theme of the Radiological Protection Study Group of the Radiology Society of São Paulo in May, which featured a presentation by physicist Marcus Vinicius Bortolotto.

In his presentation, Marcus cited an NCRP 160 study of US population exposures, which concluded that 83% were exposed to background radiation and only 15% of those exposures came from medical and dental x-rays in 1987, and in 2006 these percentages were equal.

From this, there was a concern to control the computed tomography doses for both patients and staff. And then came ICRP 102 (with appropriate technical parameters and dose management in CT) and ICRP 135 (with Diagnostic Reference Level – DRL, as a tool to optimize dose management in medical imaging procedures), from the International Commission on Radiological Protection.

The meeting generated the discussion on pediatric CT as well – a sector in which Europe has always been ahead compared to other places in the world, with a regulatory structure. And always emphasizing that the DRL is a reference and not a limit, but that it generated the need for registration and, above all, to justify the procedures.

Even with this justification, it is necessary to think about the size of the patient since pediatric CT scans increase every year and children’s cells are more susceptible to the effects of a given dose of radiation.

To get deeper into the topic, watch the full lesson (in Portuguese):