The main purpose of this pilot study was to assess the regional diagnostic reference level (RDRL) of computed tomography (CT) examinations to optimise medical exposure in five pediatric medical imaging centers in Tehran, Iran where the most frequent CT examinations were investigated. For each patient, CT volume dose indexes (CTDIvol) and dose length product (DLP) in each group were recorded and their third quartile was calculated and set as RDRL. Pediatrics were divided into four age groups (<1; 1–5; 5–10 and 10–15 years). Then, the third quartile values for head, chest and abdomen-pelvic CTs were, respectively, calculated for each group in terms of CTDIvol: 21.3, 24.4, 24.2 and 36.3 mGy; 2.9, 3.2, 3.7 and 5.7 mGy; 3.7, 5.7, 6.3 and 6.8 mGy; and in terms of DLP: 322.2, 390.1, 424.9 and 694.1 mGy.cm; 53.1, 115.2, 145.3 and 167.6 mGy.cm and 128.7, 317.7, 460.2 and 813.8 mGy.cm. Finally, RDRLs were compared with other countries and preceding data in Iran. As a result, CTDIVOL values were lower than other national and international studies except for chest and abdomen-pelvic values obtained in Europe. Moreover, this matter applied to DLP so that other formerly reported values were higher than the present study but European values for chest and abdomen-pelvic scans and also Tehran studies conducted in 2012. Variation of scan parameters (tube voltage (kVp), tube current (mAs) and scan length), CTDIvol and DLP of different procedures among different age groups were statistically significant (P-value < 0.05). The variations in dose between CT departments as well as between identical scanners suggest a large potential for optimization of examinations relative to which this study provides helpful data.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.