Investigation of CT scan frequency in children based on RIS in a hospital

Objective To ascertain the frequency distribution of CT examinations in children.Method A wide range of information was collected through the radiology information system (RIS),including ID,sex,birth date,examination time,the examined part of body and other relevant ones related to children who underwent CT examinations between Jan 1,2012 and Dec 31,2012.The SAS software was used for data processing and statistical analysis.Results A total of 1 542 children underwent 1 670 examinations,of which 67％ were male.Head CT examination was the most frequent,accounting for 71.9％ of all CT examinations,and followed by the abdomen/pelvis examinations.The number of examinations of children undergoing the repetitive examination accounted for 6.4％; 51.7％ of the examinations was for trauma.The positive rate of CT examination was 51％,dependent upon the age and examined body parts to some extent.The younger patients had lower positive rate,and the positive rate of head CT examination was lower than those in other parts.Conclusions To reduce the possible cancer risk to be induced by the ionizing radiation from CT,justification of CT examination should be considered for children. Key words: Computerized tomography; Children; Medical radiation; Radiology information system; Positive rate