IAEA Survey of Pediatric CT Practice in 40 Countries in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Africa. Part 1 : Frequency and Appropriateness

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency of pediatric CT in 40 less-resourced countries and to determine the level of appropriateness in CT use. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Data on the increase in the number of CT examinations during 2007 and 2009 and appropriate use of CT examinations were collected, using standard forms, from 146 CT facilities at 126 hospitals. RESULTS. The lowest frequency of pediatric CT examinations in 2009 was in European facilities (4.3%), and frequencies in Asia (12.2%) and Africa (7.8%) were twice as high. Head CT is the most common CT examination in children, amounting to nearly 75% of all pediatric CT examinations. Although regulations in many countries assign radiologists with the main responsibility of deciding whether a radiologic examination should be performed, in fact, radiologists alone were responsible for only 6.3% of situations. Written referral guidelines for imaging were not available in almost one half of the CT facilities. Appropriateness criter...