Better ultrasound and MRI instead of X-ray and CT

Pediatric radiologists are increasingly turning to ultrasound and MRI in young patients

09/26/2013

Children are much more sensitive to radiation exposure than adults because their bodies are still growing. For this reason, physicians in young patients try as far as possible to do without X-ray and CT examinations and instead investigate by means of ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)..

Children are more sensitive to radiation exposure than adults
Radiation exposure from imaging techniques such as X-rays and computed tomography (CT) can be more stressful for children than adults. The reason: Since the child's body is still growing, the cells divide faster. As a result, the radiation during cell division can lead to the formation of pathological cells, which in turn can cause cancer. A healthy body can usually defend itself successfully in this case. But „Children are more sensitive to the individual radiation exposure, which adds up and increases the risk with each additional X-ray“, explains Prof. Dr. med. Hans-Joachim Mentzel from the University Hospital Jena.

Ultrasound even with bone fractures a safe alternative
In order to avoid risks, physicians therefore try as far as possible to do without X-rays and CT in the case of the small patients, as the radiation may even damage the genetic material. Instead, MRI or ultrasound, which is often used successfully, even in bone fractures, is increasingly being used. Multi-eared studies have already shown that ultrasound is particularly „with long bones the X-ray is equivalent and in children the ultrasound can be used alternatively to the X-ray“, so the current press release of the Society for Pediatric Radiology. Accordingly, could „through the sensible use of ultrasound in addition to a significant acceleration of the diagnostic examination, a significant reduction in medically induced radiation exposure in children“ be achieved, Dr. Bernd Schweiger from the University Hospital Essen continues.

Experts discuss alternatives in the pediatric radiologist
Children in radiology - an important topic that will be tackling more than 250 experts from the fields of radiology, pediatrics, neuroradiology, nuclear medicine and cardiology at the 50th Annual Meeting of the Society for Pediatric Radiology in Jena from today until the weekend. „Radiation protection plays a particularly important role in pediatric radiology“, emphasizes conference leader Prof. dr. Hans-Joachim Mentzel. This is shown for example by an Australian study with 680,000 subjects. After that, children and adolescents screened by CT had a 24 percent higher risk for leukemia or so-called „solid“ Tumors compared to other patients, Mentzel said „world“.

More and more CT examinations in the USA
Despite this danger, according to Professor Mentzel, more and more CT examinations are being carried out, especially in the US, both in adults and in children. In Germany, however, are the numbers „relatively stable with the exception of emergency CT examinations in the event of accidents.“ In normal clinical practice, however, ultrasound and MRI would be used more and more frequently in pediatric radiology. The kids could be there „complete from "Locke to Socke" via ultrasound“ Mentzel explains. Only a few places - such as the lungs - could not be reached with this procedure.

X-ray pass for children to avoid unnecessary examinations
In general, Mentzel believes that attempts should be made to keep ionizing radiation out of the reach of children, as there are still no reliable results on how much radiation a young person can tolerate. In order to avoid errors in the X-ray, doctors should also in principle to the „Guidelines of the pediatric radiology society“ orientate. However, which procedure is necessary in individual cases for the diagnosis, in the opinion of Mentzel the physician must, of course, decide for himself. In order not to double-examine children out of ignorance, an X-ray pass provides useful help that every child should have with them. In this all examinations are registered, so that each treating physician can get an overview immediately. (No)