Evaluation average glandular dose during mammography examinations in children

Pediatric are sensitive to ionizing radiation, and exposed to a higher average glandular dose due to their dense breast. To our knowledge, this is the first study conducted to quantify pediatric entrance surface air kerma and average glandular dose. The aim of this study was to quantify pediatric mammography dose by evaluating ESAK and estimating AGD in clinically indicated examinations, and to discuss these findings within the framework of radiation protection and dose optimization in pediatric breast imaging. In the current study, a total of 17 paediatric patients (8 (47.1%) male and (9 (52.9% female) with the mean age 13.3 ± 2.0, ranged from 10 to 16 years. The main clinical indication is breast pathology that cause enlargement such as masses or cyst. The procedures were carried out at Riyadh Care Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All procedures were carried out utilizing a MAMMOMAT Inspiration, a digital mammography system with a sensitive detector (amorphous selenium (a-Se))). Siemens AG Medical Solutions, Erlangen, Germany). The mean, and range of the ESAK (mGy) was 6.8 (0.122 - 18.81 mGy). The mean AGD is 8.6 mGy per procedure ranging from 0.14 to 20.7 mGy per mammogram procedures. Because paediatric patients are inherently more radiosensitive than adults, and the risk of radiation-induced cancer increases because of their longer life expectancy and the proliferative nature of developing tissues. Therefore, even doses similar to those used in adult imaging carry greater long-term implications for children. Precise justification and optimization of mammographic procedure is recommended.