Radiation dose assessment of low-dose 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose total-body positron emission tomography/computed tomography imaging in children
10.13491/j.issn.1004-714X.2026.02.008
- VernacularTitle:儿童低剂量18F-FDG全身PET/CT显像的辐射剂量评估
- Author:
Wenhui LIU
1
;
Leiying CHAI
2
;
Yulin GUO
1
;
Yudong JING
2
;
Kun LI
2
Author Information
1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan 250014, China;Shandong First Medical University, Jinan 250117, China.
2. Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan 250014, China.
- Publication Type:OriginalArticles
- Keywords:
Pediatric patient;
18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography;
Radiation exposure;
Radiation dose optimization
- From:
Chinese Journal of Radiological Health
2026;35(2):206-213
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To evaluate the effect of low-dose 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) injection on image quality in pediatric patients, calculate the whole-body effective dose and absorbed doses to critical organs, and provide a reference for clinical protection in pediatric low-dose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) examination. Methods A total of 67 pediatric patients aged 4-14 years who underwent 18F-FDG whole-body PET/CT imaging in the Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University between January 2024 and December 2025 were enrolled in a retrospective study. According to the injected 18F-FDG dose, patients were divided into a full-dose group (37 cases, 2.96-3.7 MBq/kg, PET acquisition duration of 10 min) and a low-dose group (30 cases, 1.85-2.4 MBq/kg, PET acquisition duration of 15 min). All scans were performed using a uEXPLORER PET/CT scanner. The standardized uptake value, standard deviation, and signal-to-noise ratio were measured for the liver and mediastinal blood pool. Image quality was compared between the two groups. The PET effective dose was calculated based on body mass index, and the total effective dose was obtained by combining PET effective dose with CT effective dose. The doses to critical organs were calculated according to ICRP Publication 128. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 26.0 and Prism 9.0 software. Differences were compared between groups. Results There were no significant differences in age, sex, weight, height, or body mass index between the two groups (P>0.05), while the injected dose showed a significant difference (P<0.001). In terms of image quality, there were no significant differences in standardized uptake value, standard deviation, and signal-to-noise ratio between the two groups. In terms of radiation dose, compared with the full-dose group, the low-dose group showed a 35.13% reduction in PET effective dose and a 15.22% reduction in total effective dose (P<0.05), whereas the CT effective dose was reduced by 2.4% and the difference was not significant (P=0.0892). The doses to critical organs (gonads, breasts, thyroid, red bone marrow, lungs) in the low-dose group were significantly lower than those in the full-dose group (P<0.01). Conclusion Under the premise of meeting clinical diagnostic requirements, low-dose 18F-FDG whole-body PET/CT imaging in pediatric patients can reduce the overall radiation exposure by 15%, and decrease the doses to critical organs, including the gonads, by more than 20%.
