The new ultralow dose CT protocol for the diagnosis of fractures of the ankle: A prospective comparative study with conventional CT

Tuncer K., Topal M., Tekin E., Sade R., Pirimoğlu R. B., Polat G.

JOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY, cilt.28, sa.3, 2020 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 28 Sayı: 3
  • Basım Tarihi: 2020
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1177/2309499020960238
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Atatürk Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Purpose: Computerized tomography (CT) imaging is increasingly being used to evaluate patients with ankle trauma. However, conventional CT (C CT) has a significantly higher radiation dose (RD) than plain radiography. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and reliability of ultra-low-dose CT (ULDCT) protocol for ankle fractures. Methods: Ninety-eight consecutive patients who had ankle CT for suspected ankle fracture were included in our prospective study. C CT and ULDCT protocols were simultaneously performed on these 98 patients. Two observers independently evaluated ULDCT and C CT images. The effective RD of the ULDCT and C CT groups was calculated. Results: The interobserver agreement was 1 (perfect). ULDCT and C CT group images showed no significant difference in image quality. The effective RD of the ULDCT was significantly lower than the C CT (p< 0.001). Conclusions: By evaluating the results of this study, ULDCT proved to be a reliable diagnostic imaging method for fractures of the ankle. The satisfactory diagnostic image quality of the ULDCT protocol provides promising results.