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Pediatric chest CT at 70 kVp: a feasibility study in 129 children

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Abstract

Background

Before introducing 70-kVp settings in the low-kilovoltage strategies for pediatric examinations, it was mandatory to demonstrate, at similar dose levels, an equivalence of image quality at 70 kVp and 80 kVp.

Objective

To assess image quality of chest CT examinations acquired at 70 kVp in comparison with standard scanning at 80 kVp.

Materials and methods

We prospectively evaluated 129 children with a 70-kVp scanning protocol (group 1). All scanning parameters were kept similar to those usually selected for pediatric standard 80-kVp protocols, except the milliamperage increased by a factor of 1.6 to maintain comparable radiation dose. Image quality of group 1 examinations was compared to that of a paired population scanned at 80 kVp (group 2). The noninferiority hypothesis was fixed at 10% of the mean level of image noise.

Results

There was no significant difference in the mean dose length product (DLP) and the volume computed tomography dose index (CTDIvol) between the groups (DLP: 20.5 ± 5.8 mGy.cm [group 1] vs. 19.7 ± 7.6 mGy.cm [group 2]; P = 0.06) (CTDIvol: 0.8 ± 0.1 mGy [group 1] vs. 0.8 ± 0.18 mGy [group 2]; P = 0.94). The mean of differences in image noise between group 1 and group 2 examinations was −1.38 (−2.59; −0.18), verifying the noninferiority hypothesis. Subjective image quality did not significantly differ between group 1 and group 2 examinations (P = 0.18).

Conclusion

At equivalent radiation dose levels, 70-kVp protocols provide similar image quality to that achievable at 80 kVp.

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Conflicts of interest

We acknowledge that Martine Remy-Jardin received research grants from Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany. Jacques Remy is a consultant for Siemens Healthcare.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Thoracic Imaging, Hospital Calmette, Univ Lille Nord de France, Lille, France

    Tilo Niemann, Simon Henry, Jean-Baptiste Faivre, Lucie Colas, Teresa Santangelo, Jacques Remy & Martine Remy-Jardin

  2. Department of Medical Statistics, Univ Lille Nord de France, Lille, France

    Alain Duhamel

  3. Department of Pediatric Pulmonology, Hospital Jeanne de Flandre, Univ Lille Nord de France, Lille, France

    Antoine Deschildre

  4. Department of Thoracic Imaging, Hospital Calmette, Boulevard Jules Leclercq, 59037, Lille cedex, France

    Martine Remy-Jardin

Authors
  1. Tilo Niemann
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  2. Simon Henry
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  3. Alain Duhamel
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  4. Jean-Baptiste Faivre
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  5. Antoine Deschildre
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  6. Lucie Colas
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  7. Teresa Santangelo
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  8. Jacques Remy
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  9. Martine Remy-Jardin
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Correspondence to Martine Remy-Jardin.

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Niemann, T., Henry, S., Duhamel, A. et al. Pediatric chest CT at 70 kVp: a feasibility study in 129 children. Pediatr Radiol 44, 1347–1357 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-014-3027-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-014-3027-8

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