The effective and collective dose to patients undergoing abdominopelvic and trunk computed tomography examinations: a Belgian multicentre study

Publication date: Available online 24 December 2018

Source: European Journal of Radiology

Author(s): Bieke De Roo, Nele Stichelbaut, Pieter Hoste, Koenraad Verstraete, Klaus Bacher

Abstract

Objectives

This study aims to evaluate the radiation exposure to patients undergoing an abdominopelvic or a chest and abdominopelvic (trunk) CT examination and to assess compliance to imaging referral guidelines.

Methods

To this end, 357 standard abdominopelvic and trunk CT scans were collected from 8 Belgian institutions in 2011 and 2015. Effective dose (E) and collective dose were calculated using CT dose descriptors (CTDI_vol and DLP), which were obtained from dose reports generated by the CT scanner. Subsequently, these CT requests were compared against the national referral guidelines to assess compliance. Population estimates for dose and compliance were obtained using multilevel linear regression and generalized estimating equation models.

Results

Between 2011 and 2015, a significant decrease of 28% in CTDI_vol and DLP was found for abdominopelvic CT. The corresponding E decreased by 27%, and the collective dose by 23%. For trunk CT, a non-significant decrease of 6% was found in CTDI_vol and a significant decrease of 14% in both DLP and E. However, the collective dose of trunk examinations increased by 39%. In 2011, 24% of the abdominopelvic examinations were not compliant with the guidelines, whereas this percentage dropped to 17% in 2015. Non-justified examinations accounted for 8% and 12% of all trunk CT scans in 2011 and 2015, respectively.

Conclusion

Between 2011 and 2015, there was a decrease in dose for patients undergoing abdominopelvic or trunk CT in Belgium. However, a fraction of the estimated doses are linked to unnecessary CT examinations, which should be avoided.

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