Pediatric Management and Preparation in PET-CT

Abstract

Patient cooperation is crucial to a successful PET-CT examination. New situations are often a source of anxiety and can inhibit the child’s ability to cooperate. Explanation of the procedure, practicing positioning, and touring the facility will help to curb the anxiety. Pediatric PET-CT examinations take a little bit longer to perform. For the injection, radiopharmaceutical dose is weight (lean body weight) adjusted based on 15 mCi standard. Physicians need to be knowledgeable of the sedative agents being used and prepared to provide supportive care. CT dose should be carefully monitored in pediatric patients. Both kV and mA can be significantly lowered compared to adult protocols and achieve diagnostic quality images. While pediatric patients often require fewer bed positions to cover the pertinent anatomy compared to adults, the PET portion of the examination is considerably longer than the CT portion and as a result, the likelihood of motion increases. Often the region of greatest interest is imaged first.