Radiation Risk to Children From Computed Tomography

TABLE 1

Estimated Medical Radiation Doses for a 5-Year-Old Child

Imaging Area	Effective Dose, mSv	Equivalent No. of CXRs
3-view ankle	0.0015	1/14th
2-view chest	0.02	1
Anteroposterior and lateral abdomen	0.05	2½
Tc-99m2 radionuclide cystogram	0.18	9
Tc-99m radionuclide bone scan	6.2	310
FDG PET3 scan	15.3	765
Fluoroscopic cystogram	0.33	16
Head CT	4	200
Chest CT	3	150
Abdomen CT	5	250

• CXR indicates chest radiograph; Tc-99m, technetium 99m; FDG PET, fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography.