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Radiation safety education and diagnostic imaging in pediatric patients with surgically treated hydrocephalus: the patient and family perspective

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Abstract

Purpose

Surgically treated hydrocephalus patients are frequently imaged with head computed tomography (CT), and risk/benefit communication with families is inconsistent and unknown. We aimed to educate patients and caregivers about radiation safety in CT and explore their communication preferences.

Methods

We conducted a pediatric CT radiation safety and diagnostic imaging educational workshop for patients and caregivers at a national conference on hydrocephalus to characterize current practice and desired communication about CT imaging. Our workshop consisted of an interactive educational intervention with pre-/post-session surveys followed by feedback from participants.

Results

Our session included 34 participants (100% response rate for surveys) with 28 being parents of individuals with hydrocephalus. A total of 76% (n = 26) participants showed an increase in knowledge after the session (p < 0.01). All participants (N = 34) uniformly desired risk/benefit discussions before CT scans. However, 71% stated that they were not informed of risks/benefits of CT scans by a medical professional. Following the session, the number of participants indicating that informed consent should be obtained before CT scans increased from 30 to 33. Respondents also revealed that 14% of children and young adults had received > 100 CT scans for shunt evaluation with the median being 25 scans (IQR 20).

Conclusions

Caregivers desire and deserve to be empowered through education and social support, and continuously engaged through sharing decisions and co-designing care plans. The neurosurgical community is in an ideal position to collaborate with radiologists, primary care providers, and parents in the development and testing of credible, high-quality online and social media resources.

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Author notes

  1. Diane Armao and Terry S. Hartman contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina, Campus Box 7510, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7510, USA

    Diane Armao, Terry S. Hartman & J. Keith Smith

  2. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina, Campus Box 7510, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7510, USA

    Diane Armao

  3. Department of Health Informatics, School of Health Professionals, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA

    Terry S. Hartman

  4. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Laurence Katz

  5. Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Christopher M. Shea

  6. Hydrocephalus Association, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Jenna Koschnitzky

  7. School of Osteopathic Medicine, Campbell University, Buies Creek, NC, USA

    Richard Yang

  8. Department of Neurosurgery, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Carolyn Quinsey

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  1. Diane Armao
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  2. Terry S. Hartman
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Correspondence to Diane Armao.

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Armao, D., Hartman, T.S., Katz, L. et al. Radiation safety education and diagnostic imaging in pediatric patients with surgically treated hydrocephalus: the patient and family perspective. Childs Nerv Syst 37, 491–497 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-020-04822-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-020-04822-0

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