Skip to main content
Advertisement

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Accepted Manuscripts
    • Article Preview
    • Past Issue Archive
    • Video Articles
    • AJNR Case Collection
    • Case of the Week Archive
    • Case of the Month Archive
    • Classic Case Archive
  • Special Collections
    • AJNR Awards
    • Low-Field MRI
    • Alzheimer Disease
    • ASNR Foundation Special Collection
    • Photon-Counting CT
    • View All
  • Multimedia
    • AJNR Podcasts
    • AJNR SCANtastic
    • Trainee Corner
    • MRI Safety Corner
    • Imaging Protocols
  • For Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Submit a Video Article
    • Submit an eLetter to the Editor/Response
    • Manuscript Submission Guidelines
    • Statistical Tips
    • Fast Publishing of Accepted Manuscripts
    • Graphical Abstract Preparation
    • Imaging Protocol Submission
    • Author Policies
  • About Us
    • About AJNR
    • Editorial Board
    • Editorial Board Alumni
  • More
    • Become a Reviewer/Academy of Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • Feedback
    • Advertisers
    • ASNR Home

User menu

  • Alerts
  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
American Journal of Neuroradiology
American Journal of Neuroradiology

American Journal of Neuroradiology

ASHNR American Society of Functional Neuroradiology ASHNR American Society of Pediatric Neuroradiology ASSR
  • Alerts
  • Log in

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Accepted Manuscripts
    • Article Preview
    • Past Issue Archive
    • Video Articles
    • AJNR Case Collection
    • Case of the Week Archive
    • Case of the Month Archive
    • Classic Case Archive
  • Special Collections
    • AJNR Awards
    • Low-Field MRI
    • Alzheimer Disease
    • ASNR Foundation Special Collection
    • Photon-Counting CT
    • View All
  • Multimedia
    • AJNR Podcasts
    • AJNR SCANtastic
    • Trainee Corner
    • MRI Safety Corner
    • Imaging Protocols
  • For Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Submit a Video Article
    • Submit an eLetter to the Editor/Response
    • Manuscript Submission Guidelines
    • Statistical Tips
    • Fast Publishing of Accepted Manuscripts
    • Graphical Abstract Preparation
    • Imaging Protocol Submission
    • Author Policies
  • About Us
    • About AJNR
    • Editorial Board
    • Editorial Board Alumni
  • More
    • Become a Reviewer/Academy of Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • Feedback
    • Advertisers
    • ASNR Home
  • Follow AJNR on Twitter
  • Visit AJNR on Facebook
  • Follow AJNR on Instagram
  • Join AJNR on LinkedIn
  • RSS Feeds

AJNR Awards, New Junior Editors, and more. Read the latest AJNR updates

Research ArticlePatient Safety

CT-Guided Lumbar Nerve Root Injections: Are We Using the Correct Radiation Dose Settings?

J.S. Schauberger, P.G. Kranz, K. Roy Choudhury, J.D. Eastwood, L. Gray and J.K. Hoang
American Journal of Neuroradiology May 2012, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.A3096
J.S. Schauberger
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
P.G. Kranz
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
K. Roy Choudhury
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
J.D. Eastwood
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
L. Gray
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
J.K. Hoang
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • Responses
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Selecting a lower tube current for CT fluoroscopic spine injections is a method of radiation dose reduction. Ideally tube current should be tailored to the patient's body habitus, but a greater influence on tube current may be the proceduralist's personal preference. The purpose of this study was to compare tube current and fluoroscopy time of different proceduralists for lumbar spine CT-guided selective nerve root blocks, and to correlate image quality to patient diameter and tube current.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty CT-guided SNRBs performed by 4 proceduralists were retrospectively reviewed for tube current and fluoroscopy time. Patient body habitus was evaluated by measuring anteroposterior diameters on scout images. Image quality was evaluated objectively and subjectively: noise was measured in the psoas muscle and images were graded on a 3-point scale.

RESULTS: The mean tube current was 59 ± 20 mA and mean fluoroscopy time was 10.4 ± 7.5 seconds. The mean tube current between proceduralists differed by almost 2-fold, and there was greater than 2-fold difference in mean fluoroscopy time (P < .0001 and .01, respectively). Mean AP body size was 27 ± 5 cm. When categoric data of tube current and AP diameter were analyzed, only AP diameter was a statistically significant variable influencing image noise (P = .009). Twenty of 23 patients with AP diameter ≤30 cm had adequate to excellent image quality, even with lower tube current of ≤40 mA.

CONCLUSIONS: Wide variability in tube current selection between proceduralists calls for a more objective method of selecting tube current to minimize radiation dose. Body size, measured by AP diameter, had the greatest influence on image quality. This could be used to identify patients for lower tube current selection.

Abbreviations

AP
anteroposterior
CTDIvol
CT dose index volume
SNRB
selective nerve root block
  • © 2012 American Society of Neuroradiology
Next
Back to top
Advertisement
Download PDF
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Journal of Neuroradiology.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
CT-Guided Lumbar Nerve Root Injections: Are We Using the Correct Radiation Dose Settings?
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Journal of Neuroradiology
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Journal of Neuroradiology web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Cite this article
J.S. Schauberger, P.G. Kranz, K. Roy Choudhury, J.D. Eastwood, L. Gray, J.K. Hoang
CT-Guided Lumbar Nerve Root Injections: Are We Using the Correct Radiation Dose Settings?
American Journal of Neuroradiology May 2012, DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.A3096

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
0 Responses
Respond to this article
Share
Bookmark this article
CT-Guided Lumbar Nerve Root Injections: Are We Using the Correct Radiation Dose Settings?
J.S. Schauberger, P.G. Kranz, K. Roy Choudhury, J.D. Eastwood, L. Gray, J.K. Hoang
American Journal of Neuroradiology May 2012, DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.A3096
del.icio.us logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Purchase

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • Responses
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Comparison of CT and fluoroscopic guidance for lumbar puncture in an obese population with prior failed unguided attempt
  • Crossref
  • Google Scholar

This article has not yet been cited by articles in journals that are participating in Crossref Cited-by Linking.

More in this TOC Section

  • Safety of Intrathecal Gadobutrol in Various Doses
  • Impact of Kidney Function on CNS Gadolinium Deposition in Patients Receiving Repeated Doses of Gadobutrol
  • Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury in Radiologic Management of Acute Ischemic Stroke in the Emergency Setting
Show more Patient Safety

Similar Articles

Advertisement

Indexed Content

  • Current Issue
  • Accepted Manuscripts
  • Article Preview
  • Past Issues
  • Editorials
  • Editor's Choice
  • Fellows' Journal Club
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Video Articles

Cases

  • Case Collection
  • Archive - Case of the Week
  • Archive - Case of the Month
  • Archive - Classic Case

More from AJNR

  • Trainee Corner
  • Imaging Protocols
  • MRI Safety Corner
  • Book Reviews

Multimedia

  • AJNR Podcasts
  • AJNR Scantastics

Resources

  • Turnaround Time
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Submit a Video Article
  • Submit an eLetter to the Editor/Response
  • Manuscript Submission Guidelines
  • Statistical Tips
  • Fast Publishing of Accepted Manuscripts
  • Graphical Abstract Preparation
  • Imaging Protocol Submission
  • Evidence-Based Medicine Level Guide
  • Publishing Checklists
  • Author Policies
  • Become a Reviewer/Academy of Reviewers
  • News and Updates

About Us

  • About AJNR
  • Editorial Board
  • Editorial Board Alumni
  • Alerts
  • Permissions
  • Not an AJNR Subscriber? Join Now
  • Advertise with Us
  • Librarian Resources
  • Feedback
  • Terms and Conditions
  • AJNR Editorial Board Alumni

American Society of Neuroradiology

  • Not an ASNR Member? Join Now

© 2025 by the American Society of Neuroradiology All rights, including for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies, are reserved.
Print ISSN: 0195-6108 Online ISSN: 1936-959X

Powered by HighWire