When parents take their children to a doctor, they often have concerns about how the procedure may impact their child’s health, well-being, and future development. That’s especially true with diagnostic or interventional procedures that use equipment that emits radiation, such as X-rays, fluoroscopy, or C-arms.
It’s logical to wonder if pediatric radiation protection equipment, such as lead aprons for children, is available to help. We’ll review the research and answer common questions so concerned parents and healthcare providers can make educated decisions during pediatric treatment. Read on for all the details.
Why Do Pediatric Patients Need Special Radiation Protection?
Radiation safety for children is a big concern during medical treatment because several studies show that pediatric patients can be at greater risk of health complications from radiation exposure.
For example, research conducted by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health stressed that children have a higher risk than adults of developing cancer after unmanaged radiation exposure. The study mentioned that thyroid cancers and leukemia are the most common after accidental or mismanaged exposures.
Therefore, healthcare facilities must use safe practices to reduce doses as much as possible during pediatric treatments.
What Types of Patient Shielding Are Available for Pediatric Patients?
While you may see doctors and technicians wearing radiation protection equipment like lead aprons during procedures, the solutions to manage doses often aren’t the same for patients. For instance, it’s common to wonder about pediatric lead aprons that could help, but that’s not necessarily the best solution.
A study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology analyzed the effect of using lead shielding on pediatric patients during diagnostic imaging. Based on the results, researchers didn’t recommend the use of shielding for patients because of how it can affect the quality of the X-ray image.
Having dense lead covering the patient can disrupt X-rays, causing artifacts that will distort the image and make it hard to use them for diagnostic purposes.
There’s also a growing body of research mentioned in a study from the British Journal of Radiology that shows that using patient shielding with modern equipment can be harmful in some cases. The primary reason for that is that modern imaging equipment often uses automatic controls that adjust intensity levels based on factors like the patient’s weight.
Therefore, a dense lead apron in the X-ray’s view could cause a significant increase in exposure to the whole room.
How Can Facilities Achieve Dose Reduction Without Compromising Image Quality?
Even though pediatric patient shielding isn’t the best option, there are still strategies that can help reduce patient doses, especially for children who are more sensitive to radiation.
Research from the Journal of Clinical Orthopedic Trauma outlined several strategies that could help, including:
- Healthcare professionals should ensure they select the appropriate procedure for each patient and only use equipment that emits radiation when deemed medically necessary, where the expected benefits outweigh the risks.
- Carefully documenting all patient exposures and procedures they were involved in to manage dose levels.
- Ensuring all X-rays and other equipment used are set to appropriate technical specifications to capture a high-quality image while emitting the lowest possible dose.
- Using the shortest possible scan times or strategies like pulsed fluoroscopy to reduce exposure time when medically acceptable.
Physicians should discuss each procedure with patients or parents ahead of time when possible, to address any concerns or questions about the process and safety considerations.
How Do You Choose the Right Radiation Protection Equipment for X-Ray Examinations?
A great resource to manage pediatric imaging safety is your healthcare facility’s radiation safety officer (RSO). The RSO can help clinicians select the right protective garments, such as lead aprons, thyroid collars, or glasses, to protect themselves, while also deploying the appropriate imaging strategies to keep pediatric patients as safe as possible.
It’s important to carefully track radiation doses across procedures and continuously review new research to improve safety practices as needed.
How Should Pediatric Patient Shields Be Maintained and Inspected?
While patients likely won’t wear shielding like lead aprons themselves, it’s still crucial to maintain the protective garments that healthcare workers use during procedures.
One of the important steps is regularly inspecting garments for defects such as cracks, holes, or tears that could reduce their effectiveness. We recommend performing annual X-ray scans for all protective garments in use at healthcare facilities. A study from the Journal of Health Physics found that even small tears in lead aprons can progress rapidly by up to 270% in 10 months, so it’s important to identify and repair damage early.
Contamination risks are also vital to manage during pediatric patient care. Many pieces of equipment, like lead aprons, are considered high-touch objects in medical facilities and can accumulate harmful microorganisms that pose high infection risks. For example, a study by Dr. Jaber of Wayne State found that 84% of lead aprons analyzed were contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus and Tinea species (ringworm).
Governing bodies such as AORN recommend performing quarterly deep cleaning and disinfection for all high-touch objects in medical facilities, including protective garments, to completely remove any contaminants present.
How Our Services Can Help at RCS
At RadCare Services (RCS), we provide several maintenance services that can help healthcare facilities keep protective garments in top condition. Our services include:
- Inspections using X-ray scanning
- Deep cleaning and disinfection
- Garment repairs
- Garment disposal
- Inventory management with our RadComply® software
We can also assist with garment procurement so facilities can efficiently source protective garments such as lead aprons, vests, skirts, thyroid collars, or glasses from top manufacturers.
Want to learn more about how we can help optimize garment sourcing and maintenance? Get in touch with us today to see how RCS can make a difference for you.
