Pediatrik hastalarda COVID-19 pandemisinde toraks BT kullanımına bağlı radyasyon maruziyetinin belirlenmesi

Abstract

Amaç Bu çalışmanın temel hedefi, çocuk hastalarda, Coronavirus hastalığı 2019 (COVID-19) pandemisinde toraks bilgisayarlı tomografisi (BT) kullanımının neden olduğu radyasyon maruziyetinin belirlenmesidir. Gereç ve Yöntem Nisan-Ekim 2019 ve Nisan-Ekim 2020 tarih aralığında enfeksiyon ön tanısıyla toraks BT çekilen çocuklar çalışmaya dahil edildi. 2020’de kVp %10 civarında düşürülerek çekim başına radyasyon maruziyeti azaltıldı. Doz-uzunluk çarpımı (DLP) BT taramasındaki hasta protokol ekranından elde edildi. Efektif doz hesaplamada yaşa göre değişen çevrim faktörü kullanıldı. Toplam radyasyon maruziyeti, 2019 ve 2020 yılları için ayrı ayrı, efektif dozlar toplanarak hesaplandı. Yıla (2019 ve 2020) göre, yaş ve cinsiyet farklılığı, sırasıyla T testi ve Fisher Exact Testi kullanılarak karşılaştırıldı. Bulgular Çalışmaya 366 çocuk dahil edildi. 2019 ve 2020 yıllarında BT çekilen olgu sayısı sırasıyla 70 ve 296 idi. Üç hasta, 2020’de BT ile tekrar tarandı. Ağustos ve Eylül 2020’de aynı zaman diliminde 2019’a göre BT kullanımında belirgin artış vardı (114’e karşın 8). 2019 ve 2020 için toplam efektif dozlar sırasıyla 223.21 mSv ve 590.92 mSv idi. 2020’de artan BT kullanımı ile birlikte radyasyon dozu 2.65 kat arttı. 2020’de BT yapılan olguların yaşı belirgin daha yüksek iken (p < 0.001), cinsiyet açısından fark yoktu (p = 0.11). Sonuç COVID-19 pandemi sürecinde toraks BT kullanımı nedeniyle çocuklarda radyasyon maruziyeti 2.65 kat arttı. Radyasyon maruziyeti konusunda farkındalık artırılmalı ve çocuklarda toraks BT kullanımından kaçınılmalıdır.

Keywords

• Bilgisayarlı tomografi
• COVID-19
• pandemi
• radyasyon maruziyeti

Determination of radiation exposure with related to the use of chest CT in during COVID-19 pandemic in pediatric patients

Abstract

Aim The main goal of this study was to determine the radiation exposure with use of chest computed tomography (CT) in pediatric patients in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Materials and Methods Children who underwent thorax CT with a pre-diagnosis of infection between April-September in 2019 and April-September in 2020 were included. kVp decreased about 10% to reduce radiation exposure per scans in 2020. Dose-length product (DLP) was acquired from patient protocol screen in CT scans. Age-specific conversion coefficients were used to determine effective dose. Total radiation exposure was calculated by summing effective doses in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Age and gender differences were compared among years (2019 vs 2020) using Student’s T test and Fisher’s Exact test, respectively. Results Three-hundred-sixty-six children were included. Seventy and 296 patients were scanned with chest CT in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Three patients re-scanned with CT in 2020. There was a substantial increase of CT use in August and September in 2020 compared with the same period of 2019 (114 vs 8). The total effective doses in 2019 and 2020 were 223.21 mSv and 590.92 mSv, respectively. Radiation dose increased by 2.65 times with increased use in 2020. Age of the patients was significantly higher in 2020 (p < 0.001) while there was no gender difference by years (p = 0.11). Conclusion Radiation dose increased 2.65 times in children with use of chest CT during the COVID-19 pandemic. Awareness should be raised on radiation exposure and use of chest CT should be avoided in children.

Keywords

• Computed tomography
• COVID-19
• pandemic
• radiation exposure

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