Management of the Pediatric Nuclear Medicine Patient (or Children Are Not Small Adults)

Abstract

This is the first of a four-part continuing education series on pediatric nuclear medicine. After reading and studying this article, the nuclear medicine technologist will be able to: (1) identify clinical indications for performing nuclear medicine studies in children; (2) compare and contrast nuclear medicine procedures for adult and pediatric patients; (3) compare and contrast radiopharmaceuticals to select the most appropriate for performing pediatric studies; (4) discuss radiation protection techniques used in pediatric nuclear medicine; (5) identify the principles of pediatric radiopharmaceutical dose calculation and determine dosages using common calculation methods; (6) identify possible injection sites and administration methods useful in pediatric nuclear medicine; (7) compare radiopharmaceutical clearance times and imaging times in adults and children; (8) identify the collimators of choice for most procedures performed in children; (9) recognize certain behaviors exhibited by children according to their stage of emotional development and anticipate children’s response to the hospital setting; and (10) describe patient immobilization techniques and discuss the advantages of physical restraint over sedation. Information about CEU (VOICE) credit appears immediately following this article.