Local clinical diagnostic reference levels for chest and abdomen CT examinations in adults as a function of body mass index and clinical indication: a prospective multicenter study.

Abstract

To compare institutional dose levels based on clinical indication and BMI class to anatomy-based national DRLs (NDRLs) in chest and abdomen CT examinations and to assess local clinical diagnostic reference levels (LCDRLs). From February 2017 to June 2018, after protocol optimization according to clinical indication and body mass index (BMI) class (< 25; ≥ 25), 5310 abdomen and 1058 chest CT series were collected from 5 CT scanners in a Swiss multicenter group. Clinical indication-based institutional dose levels were compared to the Swiss anatomy-based NDRLs. Statistical significance was assessed (p < 0.05). LCDRLs were calculated as the third quartile of the median dose values for each CT scanner. For chest examinations, dose metrics based on clinical indication were always below P75 NDRL for CTDI_vol (range 3.9-6.4 vs. 7.0 mGy) and DLP (164.0-211.2 vs. 250 mGycm) in all BMI classes except for DLP in BMI ≥ 25 (248.8-255.4 vs. 250.0 mGycm). For abdomen examinations, they were significantly lower or not different than P50 NDRLs for all BMI classes (3.8-9.0 vs. 10.0 mGy and 192.9-446.8 vs. 470mGycm). The estimated LCDRLs show a drop in CTDI_vol (21% for chest and 32% for abdomen, on average) with respect to current DRLs. When considering BMI stratification, the largest LCDRL difference within the same clinical indication is for renal tumor (4.6 mGy for BMI < 25 vs. 10.0 mGy for BMI ≥ 25; - 117%). The results suggest the necessity of estimating clinical indication-based DRLs, especially for abdomen examinations. Stratifying per BMI class allows further optimization of the CT doses. • Our data show that clinical indication-based DRLs might be more appropriate than anatomy-based DRLs and might help in reducing large variations in dose levels for the same type of examinations. • Stratifying the data per patient-size subgroups (non-overweight, overweight) allows a better optimization of CT doses and therefore the possibility to set LCDRLs based on BMI class. • Institutions who are fostering continuous dose optimization and LDRLs should consider defining protocols based on clinical indication and BMI group, to achieve ALARA.