3. Imaging wisely with pediatrics

From 1996 through the first decade of the new millennium, CT has increasingly been used in pediatric settings, but that trend took a turn, and in recent years the numbers have come down. There is limited evidence regarding the appropriateness of most CT procedures in pediatric patients, according to the report, and as yet it is not clear how much further to restrict its use in this sensitive population.


“Moreover, radiation doses from pediatric CT vary widely in clinical practice,” advised Kalorama, adding that standardization of clinical use and practice of “readily available” dose-reduction strategies could dramatically reduce future radiation-induced cancers caused by CT use in pediatrics.


Like initiatives to promote dose monitoring and iterative reconstruction, carefully selecting pediatric patients for CT imaging is about being cautious and limiting unnecessary exposure.

Last October, a study was presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference in San Francisco by researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. They looked at data from 2007 to 2014 and found that while more children were coming to the ED with headaches, fewer CT scans were being done.


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