Child-Centered Protocols Advised for Safe Imaging

The benefits of medical imaging far outweigh the risks when children receive treatment for illnesses or injuries; however, overuse and misuse of imaging screening change the benefit-risk ratio. Therefore, a leading US medical institution is leading a collaborative effort to ensure that a protocol for safe imaging practices for children is put into place.

Investigators from the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN, USA) published their commentary online July 2014 in the Journal of Patient Safety, and appeals for the American College of Radiology, the Joint Commission, the Intersociety Accreditation Commission, and the Centers for US Medicare & Medicaid Services to require three safety practices for accreditation of all American hospitals and advanced diagnostic imaging facilities.

The protocols are: (1) the right exam—minor head trauma imaging: use of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network clinical prediction rule; (2) the right way—protocols to reduce dual-phase head and chest computed tomography (CT) imaging; and (3) the right radiation dose—use of size-specific pediatric CT imaging protocols.

“No hospital or medical imaging facility in the country should be granted the privilege of imaging children unless it first meets fundamental safe practice performance measures,” said Stephen Swensen, MD, lead author and radiologist, Mayo Clinic. “We have the knowledge and the tools today that can substantially improve the safety and quality of care for our children [while also decreasing costs]. We have a compelling opportunity to reduce harm for the most susceptible population: our children.”

Randall Flick, MD, medical director for Mayo Clinic Children’s Center, added, “Establishing these protocols represents a great step forward on the path to safe imaging for children.”

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