MP14-06 A LOW DOSE COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY PROTOCOL FOR STONE DISEASE CAN BE ACHIEVED IN TWO EASY STEPS: RESULTS OF AN INTERNAL AUDIT

Abstract

You have accessJournal of UrologyImaging/Radiology: Uroradiology I1 Apr 2018MP14-06 A LOW DOSE COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY PROTOCOL FOR STONE DISEASE CAN BE ACHIEVED IN TWO EASY STEPS: RESULTS OF AN INTERNAL AUDIT Thomas Tailly, Matthias Beysens, Chloe Standaert, Carl Van Haute, Geert Villeirs, and Pieter De Visschere Thomas TaillyThomas Tailly More articles by this author , Matthias BeysensMatthias Beysens More articles by this author , Chloe StandaertChloe Standaert More articles by this author , Carl Van HauteCarl Van Haute More articles by this author , Geert VilleirsGeert Villeirs More articles by this author , and Pieter De VisscherePieter De Visschere More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2018.02.499AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Computed tomography (CT) is considered the gold standard for the evaluation of renal stone disease. Unfortunately this comes with a substantial radiation dose to the patient. Although still vastly underused, low dose (LD) CT data has demonstrated comparable image quality while significantly reducing dose with dose reduction software. We aimed to determine the reduction in radiation exposure by changing two settings of the CT scan protocol on the existing CT equipment at the radiology department of an university hospital. METHODS A retrospective chart review was performed for adult patients that underwent an unenhanced single-phase CT scan for evaluation of stone disease in 2016 at our institution. In March 2016 a LD CT protocol was introduced by reducing the kV to 100 and using a fixed reference mAs of 120. The regular dose CT protocol continued to be in use, applying 120 kV (exceptionally 140 in obese patients) and mAs settings automatically adapted to patient size. The radiation doses between both protocols were evaluated by the total dose-length product (DLP) (mGy.cm) provided by the dose-report of each exam. Statistical analysis was performed with non-parametric tests and chi-squared with SPSS. RESULTS A total of 354 patients were included in the analysis. Mean age was 51.6 +/- 17.3 years and patients had a mean BMI 26.2 +/- 5.0 kg/m2. The LD CT protocol was used in 117 (33.1%) patients and the regular dose CT protocol in 237 (66.9%). The demographics and anthropometrics were similar between both groups (Table 1). The mean total DLP was significantly lower in the LD group (269.50 +/- 88.44 mGy.cm) as compared to the regular dose group (666.80 +/- 251.08 mGy.cm)(p<0.0001), corresponding to a delivered dose reduction of 59.6%. The observed image quality was deemed sufficient for diagnosis of renal stone disease in all cases. CONCLUSIONS By changing only kV and reference mAs in the settings of the CT scan protocol, a reduction in delivered dose of nearly 60% could be achieved in patients scanned for renal stone disease. This no-cost adaptation may encourage urologists and radiologists to introduce a low-dose CT scan protocol without purchasing new software. © 2018FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 199Issue 4SApril 2018Page: e181 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2018MetricsAuthor Information Thomas Tailly More articles by this author Matthias Beysens More articles by this author Chloe Standaert More articles by this author Carl Van Haute More articles by this author Geert Villeirs More articles by this author Pieter De Visschere More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...