Nuclear medicine dosing for kids varies widely

A Boston Children's Hospital survey of 16 selected procedures at 13 pediatric hospitals in North America found a wide variation in radiopharmaceutical doses administered during nuclear medicine exams. The report reveals a need for consensus among nuclear physicians on appropriate doses for young patients.

Lead author Dr. S. Ted Treves and colleagues tracked the minimum and maximum administered radiopharmaceutical dose as well as the protocols used to determine appropriate doses. They found variations in maximum dosage for some drugs by a factor of 10 and differences in minimum dose by as much as a factor of 20. Survey results appeared in the June issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.