Hlb101 Health Science - Free Assessment Answers

It is important to note that this research aimed at assessing the effect of changing mAs and kVp on IQ to examine the conspicuousness of pneumothorax, particularly in DAP as well as AP neonatal chest radiograph. The study established various imperative findings, however, the main outcome was that altering exposure factors had an effect on the DAP as well as image quality. Moreover, the general graphs’ trend patterns followed a combination of both negative and positive correlations. From the graphs, as mAs raised, Intelligence Quotient optimum score declined. In the same token, the DAP increased when using 50 kVp, 60 kVp, and 70 kVp as mAs increased.

There are various recommendations in regards to the radiographic technique for a larger number of present practices or undertakings in pediatric radiography, for example, SCBU. According to Knight (2014), the SCBU should use a reasonably low attainable (ALARA) in any AP chest x-ray because this would help in maintaining optimal IQ at the same time as using low or less mAs. When performing chest x-rays of neonatal in clinical practice, it is usually seen that the field of radiation increase because of inability of the neonatal to evade missing pathology and/or anatomy as well as its inability to keep still.  As such, Karami et al. (2016), state that this can result in an increase or rise of unnecessary radiation dose to the chests fields’ of individuals.

The findings of this research indicate the significance of using lower mAs when undertaking paediatric chest X-rays because it minimizes the radiation dose amount to neonatal patients in the course of chests radiography. Most importantly, the findings of this study cannot be directly compared to other studies’ findings since this was an experimental based research and in regards to the knowledge of the author, a study has not been conducted concerning the impact of mAs and kVp in dose decrease in a neonatal phantom when undertaking chest radiography. As such, the findings of this research ought to be cautiously implied in clinical practice.

Additionally, the risks of contracting cancer in a child is naturally stochastic especially in places where children are very sensitive to radiation and where there is non-existence of threshold dose under which cancer contraction may occur (Willams, 2015). In this regards, a slight radiation exposure can possibly induce caner in children. According to Sinnott, Ron and Schneider (2010), even though, it may seem uncertain how much chest X-rays contribute towards the increase in the risk of cancer and  the risks related to a chest X-ray examination are low in comparison to other image modalities like computed tomography, it is vital to decrease the dose of  radiation in a paediatric patient.  The risk ought to be minimized and reasonably and practically kept as low as possible.

Limitations

The weakness of this research was that the experiment was carried out only once. According to Engelke, Maeder & Zepernick (2012), a repeat of the experiment as well as permitting all the observers or viewers to score the images two times could have indorsed for analysis and assessment of inter-observer variability and intra-reader variability. Therefore, this could have promoted further data analysis which would have resulted in further understanding of the difference in scoring amidst the observers. Time constraint was another limitation of the study. Only 6 observers were allowed and only fifteen images or pictures were used in the scoring process. According to Obuchowski (2000), increasing the number of the observers would have additionally had an effect of inter-observer variability on the outcomes or results resulting in the results becoming more valid and reliable.

Conclusion

In conclusion, chest radiography is one of the valuable tools in caring for infants babies are usually prone to various pathological conditions which need SCBU admission after birth where they maybe exposed to manifold chest X-rays check-ups. As such, distinctive considerations in regards to optimisation and justification are needed to decrease the dose of radiation to any paediatric patient. Even though risks related to chest X-rays’ examination are low, it is vital for the radiation doses to be minimized. The research strived to propose a practical technique which radiographers ought to consider and apply to steadfastly generate chest radiographs which kowtow with the global standards. In the same token, the outcomes of this research indicate the significance of using low mAs and kVp when conducting chest radiographies.