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Radiation dose management for pediatric cardiac computed tomography: a report from the Image Gently ‘Have-A-Heart’ campaign

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Abstract

Children with congenital or acquired heart disease can be exposed to relatively high lifetime cumulative doses of ionizing radiation from necessary medical imaging procedures including radiography, fluoroscopic procedures including diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterizations, electrophysiology examinations, cardiac computed tomography (CT) studies, and nuclear cardiology examinations. Despite the clinical necessity of these imaging studies, the related ionizing radiation exposure could pose an increased lifetime attributable cancer risk. The Image Gently “Have-A-Heart” campaign is promoting the appropriate use of medical imaging studies in children with congenital or acquired heart disease while minimizing radiation exposure. The focus of this manuscript is to provide a comprehensive review of radiation dose management and CT performance in children with congenital or acquired heart disease.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Imaging #9, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Departments of Radiology and Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 225 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Cynthia K. Rigsby & Christina L. Sammet

  2. Division of Diagnostic Imaging and Radiology, Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA

    Sarah E. McKenney

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Kevin D. Hill

  4. Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Columbia University Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA

    Anjali Chelliah

  5. Division of Cardiology, Departments of Medicine and Radiology, Columbia University Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA

    Andrew J. Einstein

  6. Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Heart Clinic at The Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    B. Kelly Han

  7. Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Departments of Pediatrics and Radiology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    Joshua D. Robinson

  8. Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Timothy C. Slesnick

  9. Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Donald P. Frush

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  1. Cynthia K. Rigsby
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  2. Sarah E. McKenney
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  3. Kevin D. Hill
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  6. B. Kelly Han
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  10. Donald P. Frush
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cynthia K. Rigsby.

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Conflicts of interest

C.K. Rigsby and J.D. Robinson are supported by grant NHLBI R01 HL115828 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. K.D. Hill is supported by UL1 TR001117 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. A.J. Einstein is supported by grant R01 HL10971 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and has received research grants to Columbia University from GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, and Toshiba America Medical Systems. C.L. Sammet is a member of Bayer HealthCare Informatics Global Advisory Board. S.E. McKenney, A. Chelliah, B.K. Han, T.C. Slesnick and D.P. Frush report no conflicts of interest.

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Rigsby, C.K., McKenney, S.E., Hill, K.D. et al. Radiation dose management for pediatric cardiac computed tomography: a report from the Image Gently ‘Have-A-Heart’ campaign. Pediatr Radiol 48, 5–20 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-017-3991-x

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