An Australian local diagnostic reference level for paediatric whole-body F-FDG PET/CT.

Objective:: The aim of this study is to report a local diagnostic reference level (DRL) for paediatric whole-body (WB) fludeoxyglucose (F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) CT examinations.

Methods:: The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) national DRL (NDRL) age category (0-4 years and 5-14 years), the International Commission on Radiological Protection age category (ICRP age) (<1, >1-5, >5-10, and >10-15 years), and European guideline weight category ( EG weight) (<5, 5-<15, 15-<30, 30-<50, and 50-<80 kg) were used to determine a local DRL for WB F FDG PET/CT studies. Two-structured questionnaires were designed to collect dose data, patient demographics, equipment details, and acquisition protocols for WB F-FDG PET/CT procedures.