A commentary published online July 1 in the Journal of Patient Safety calls for the standardization of safe imaging protocols for children, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Lead author Dr. Stephen Swensen, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and colleagues advise the American College of Radiology, the Joint Commission, the Intersociety Accreditation Commission, and the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to require three safety practices for accreditation of all U.S. hospitals and advanced diagnostic imaging facilities:
- Use of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network clinical prediction rule for minor head trauma imaging
- Use of protocols to reduce dual-phase head and chest CT imaging
- Use of patient size-specific pediatric CT imaging protocols
"No hospital or medical imaging facility in the country should be granted the privilege of imaging children unless it first meets fundamental safe practice performance measures," Swensen said in a statement released by the Mayo Clinic.
