Radiation Exposure from Medical Imaging Procedures Occur Frequently in Children

The average child in the United States will have around seven medical imaging tests involving radiation by the time they reach 18 years of age, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, USA), Emory University School of Medicine (Atlanta, GA, USA), and other institutions conducted a retrospective cohort analysis to determine population-based rates of the use of diagnostic imaging procedures with ionizing radiation in children, stratified by age and sex. In all, the researchers identified 355,088 patients younger than 18 years, alive, and continuously enrolled at the health carrier United Healthcare (Minnetonka, MN, USA) between 2005 and 2007. Of these, 436,711 imaging procedures using ionizing radiation were performed in 150,930 patients (42.5%).

The results showed that the highest rates of use were in children older than 10 years, with frequent use in infants younger than 2 years as well. Plain radiography accounted for 84.7% of imaging procedures performed. Computed tomography (CT) scans--associated with substantially higher doses of radiation--were commonly used, accounting for 11.9% of all procedures during the study period. Overall, 7.9% of children received at least one CT scan, and 3.5% received two or more, with CT scans of the head being the most frequent. The study was published early online on January 3, 2011, in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

"We know that exposure to radiation is additive over a lifetime, and we know that kids are more susceptible to the adverse effects of a given amount of radiation than adults,” said senior author pediatrician Adam L. Dorfman, MD, of the University of Michigan. "Efforts to optimize and ensure appropriate use of these procedures in the pediatric population should be encouraged.”

Related Links:
University of Michigan
Emory University School of Medicine
United Healthcare