Clinical indications for the use of computed tomography in children who underwent frequent computed tomography. A near-13-year follow-up retrospective study at a single institution in Japan

Recent studies suggest a causal link of childhood leukemia and brain tumor with repeated computed tomography (CT) scans. The reasons why frequent CT scans are taken in a specific child remain unclear. The present study aimed to clarify the medical reasons why frequent CT examinations in children, and the characteristics of the diseases of those children that required multiple CT scans. A long-term follow-up retrospective study was conducted over a 12.75-year period at a single institution. Radiological reports were investigated that contained the indications for the CT scans. The clinical indications were classified for the examination of children under 16 years of age who underwent more than three CT scans into trauma, tumor, inflammation, and others. This study showed that 8.5% of CT examinations were done three times or more. The numbers of patients by indication were 23.3% for trauma, 5.3% for hydrocephalus, and 2.3% for appendicitis. The frequencies of trauma and inflammation decreased rapidly with an increasing number of CT scans. In particular, hydrocephalus brought high frequency more than ten scans. Regarding the frequencies of clinical indications by age groups, there was a significant difference (p<0.05). The near-13-year follow-up study indicated the main clinical indications for frequent CT scans in children were trauma and hydrocephalus. Multiple follow-up CT scans in children with hydrocephalus would be traded off against the resultant increase in brain tumor risk associated with CT exposure.