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Radiation dose and image quality in pediatric chest CT: effects of iterative reconstruction in normal weight and overweight children

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Abstract

Background

New CT reconstruction techniques may help reduce the burden of ionizing radiation.

Objective

To quantify radiation dose reduction when performing pediatric chest CT using a low-dose protocol and 50% adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) compared with age/gender-matched chest CT using a conventional dose protocol and reconstructed with filtered back projection (control group) and to determine its effect on image quality in normal weight and overweight children.

Materials and methods

We retrospectively reviewed 40 pediatric chest CT (M:F = 21:19; range: 0.1–17 years) in both groups. Radiation dose was compared between the two groups using paired Student’s t-test. Image quality including noise, sharpness, artifacts and diagnostic acceptability was subjectively assessed by three pediatric radiologists using a four-point scale (superior, average, suboptimal, unacceptable).

Results

Eight children in the ASIR group and seven in the control group were overweight. All radiation dose parameters were significantly lower in the ASIR group (P < 0.01) with a greater than 57% dose reduction in overweight children. Image noise was higher in the ASIR group in both normal weight and overweight children. Only one scan in the ASIR group (1/40, 2.5%) was rated as diagnostically suboptimal and there was no unacceptable study.

Conclusion

In both normal weight and overweight children, the ASIR technique is associated with a greater than 57% mean dose reduction, without significantly impacting diagnostic image quality in pediatric chest CT examinations. However, CT scans in overweight children may have a greater noise level, even when using the ASIR technique.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Mr. Dong-Su Jang, Research Assistant, Department of Anatomy, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea, for his help with the figures.

Conflicts of interest

None

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiological Science, Severance Children’s Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 120-752, Republic of Korea

    Haesung Yoon, Myung-Joon Kim, Hyun Joo Shin, Hyun Gi Kim & Mi-Jung Lee

  2. Department of Radiology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Choon-Sik Yoon

  3. Biostatistics Collaboration Unit, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Jiin Choi

Authors
  1. Haesung Yoon
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  2. Myung-Joon Kim
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  3. Choon-Sik Yoon
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  4. Jiin Choi
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  5. Hyun Joo Shin
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  6. Hyun Gi Kim
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  7. Mi-Jung Lee
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Correspondence to Mi-Jung Lee.

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Yoon, H., Kim, MJ., Yoon, CS. et al. Radiation dose and image quality in pediatric chest CT: effects of iterative reconstruction in normal weight and overweight children. Pediatr Radiol 45, 337–344 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-014-3176-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-014-3176-9

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