More articles from Pediatrics

The authors aimed to assess the utility of gadolinium-based contrast agents in MR imaging performed for the evaluation of acute pediatric seizure presentation. In their study population, epileptogenic findings were found in 28% of patients, but gadolinium contrast was found to be of limited additive benefit in these patients.

Radiation exposure from CT scanning is of increasing concern as CT use in children has risen dramatically. This retrospective study of pediatric CT heads aimed to compare 60-keV with conventional images obtained with different acquisition protocols to evaluate whether a reduced radiation dose can be achieved in 60-keV without compromising image quality. On the basis of image analysis and observer agreement assessment, the authors found a dose reduction of 28% while maintaining superior image quality with a scan protocol of 180 mAs compared with 250 mAs on 60-keV virtual monoenergetic images from spectral detector CT in the pediatric head.