TITLE:
Analysis of Local Diagnostic Reference Levels for Pediatric Patients Undergoing 18F-FDG PET/CT Imaging for Oncology
AUTHORS:
Saad Alqahtani, Khaled Soliman, Saad Alotaibi, Khaled Alnofaie, Abdullah Alahmari, Fahad Alyahya, Abdullah Albdullah, Rashed Alharbi
KEYWORDS:
Diagnostic Reference Levels, PET/CT, 18-F-FDG, Pediatric Radiation Dose, CTDIvol, Oncology
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Applied Mathematics and Physics,
Vol.11 No.7,
July
31,
2023
ABSTRACT: Background: The PET/CT imaging studies have two doses components the dose from the PET radiopharmaceutical and the other from the low dose CT used for PET images attenuation correction. We have one PET/CT scanner at our institution a Philips Time of Flight scanner. Our local patient’s radiation protection rules requires continuous assessment of radiation doses delivered to our patients. Purposes: The objectives of this study are to develop a weight- based facility DRLs for paediatric F-18-FDG PET-CT imaging for oncology in a large tertiary hospital and to determine whether the calculated DRLs compares with internationally published DRLs. Materials & Methods: Radiation dose data and patient demographics of two-hundreds and sixteen paediatric PET-CT oncology patients imaging procedures from one large tertiary hospital were selected and analysed in order to establish a facility paediatric DRLs. Statistical analysis was performed. Results: The PET dose reference levels ranged between [62 - 525] MBq of injected activity for a range of pediatric age groups. The CTDIvol values were between 3.5 and 16.5 mGy for all age groups. Comparison with current EANM and SNMMI recommendations of patient’s dose are discussed. Conclusion: Our pediatric PET/CT reference levels are higher than the ones reported internationally with notable variations.