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General Clinical Specialties: PediatricsPediatrics Posters |
1 Nuclear Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
1173
Objectives: To obtain objective data on the variability of administered doses at North American pediatric institutions.
Methods: 13 pediatric hospitals provided information for 16 nuclear medicine examinations including 1) minimum radiopharmaceutical administered dose per exam; 2) administered doses per kg; and 3) maximum administered dose.
Results: Doses varied over a relatively large range, especially for minimum administered doses. In most cases, reported values for maximum activity and activity per mass varied within a factor of 2 although some varied by as much as a factor of 10. Values of minimum activity varied by as much as a factor of 20 for some procedures. Examples: 1) 99mTc-DMSA minimum dose varied from 5.55-74.0 MBq, activity/kg from 1.11-3.70 MBq/kg, maximum dose varied from 74.0-222.0 MBq; 2) 99mTc -MAG3 minimum total doses varied from 18.5-148 MBq, activity/kg varied from 1.85-10.36 MBq/kg, maximum dose varied from 111.0-370.0 MBq; 3) 99mTc -MDP minimum doses varied from 22.2-185.0 MBq, activity/kg varied from 7.4-13.3 MBq/kg, maximum dose varied from 666-925 MBq. Similar variations were found for other agents.
Conclusions: There is a need for a broader consensus on pediatric radiopharmaceutical dose schedules particularly on minimum administered doses. The pediatric nuclear medicine community should promote a dialogue aimed at developing guidelines for radiopharmaceutical doses in children. Efforts should focus on 1) achieving superior image quality while utilizing the minimum doses necessary; and 2) exploring use of new technology including instrumentation and reconstruction software as a means of reducing radiation exposure while maintaining diagnostic accuracy.
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