Patient Radiation Exposure in a Modern, Large-Volume, Pediatric Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory

Radiation exposure from pediatric cardiac catheterization may be substantial, although published estimates vary. We sought to report patient radiation dose across a range of diagnostic and interventional cases in a modern, high-volume pediatric catheterization laboratory. We retrospectively reviewed diagnostic and interventional cases performed in our pediatric catheterization laboratory from 1 April 2009 to 30 September 2011 for which radiation usage data were available as reported by the Artis Zee^® (Siemens Medical Solutions) system. Electrophysiology cases were excluded. Radiation dose was quantified as air kerma dose (mGy) and dose-area product (DAP; μGy m²). The DAP was converted to an effective dose millisievert (mSv) using the Monte Carlo method. Radiation usage data were available from 2,265 diagnostic and interventional cases with an overall median air kerma dose of 135 mGy [interquartile range (IQR) 59–433], median DAP of 760 μGy m² (IQR 281–2,810), of which 75 % (IQR 59–90 %) was derived from fluoroscopy, and median effective dose of 6.2 mSv (IQR 2.7–14.1). Air kerma dose from a single camera >2,000 mGy occurred in 1.8 % of cases. Significant differences in all measures of radiation exposure existed based on procedural and interventional types (p = 0.0001), with interventional cases associated with the highest effective dose after adjusting for patient weight category (p < 0.001). Patient weight, age, fluoroscopy time, and proportional use of digital acquisition were independent predictors of exposure (p ≤ 0.001; R ² = 0.59–0.64). In a modern, large-volume pediatric catheterization laboratory, the median effective dose is 6.2 mSv with a wide range of exposure based on patient- and procedure-specific factors. Radiation monitoring is an important component of a pediatric laboratory and further dose reduction strategies are warranted.