ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Subcutaneous fat is a highly active metabolic tissue that exerts control on numerous biochemical and physiological processes in health and disease. Children are particularly susceptible to nutritional problems, hence the need to measure subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT) which can be used to determine their body composition. Ultrasonography provides an affordable, noninvasive, available technique of achieving this. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the normal values of SFT at the triceps, subscapular, and abdomen in children age 1-5 years using ultrasound in southern Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospective study of 1750 healthy children age 1-5 years in nursery and primary schools in Calabar, Nigeria. Their body mass indexes were calculated from their weights and heights, while their triceps fat thickness (TFT), subscapular fat thickness (SuFT), and abdominal fat thickness (AFT) were measured using a 7.5-MHz linear array transducer of a Hitachi portable ultrasound machine. RESULTS: The mean TFT value for girls was 4.6 ± 2.0 mm and 3.99 ± 1.8 mm for boys. Girls had mean SuFT value of 2.37 ± 1.41 mm and boys 2.14 ± 1.02 mm. The mean AFT value for girls was 5.53 ± 2.94 mm and for boys 4.53 ± 2.37 mm. The values at all sites were generally higher in females than in males. CONCLUSION: This work has provided a sonographic normogram of SFT at various sites for preschool children in Nigeria.
Subject(s)
Body Mass Index , Skinfold Thickness , Subcutaneous Fat/diagnostic imaging , Ultrasonography , Body Composition , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Muscle, Skeletal , Nigeria , Prospective Studies , Reference ValuesABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To develop a protocol for the optimization of diagnostic chest radiography examination, the effect of radiographic exposure reduction on image quality is investigated. PROCEDURE: Fourty-eight adult patients presenting for posterior-anterior (PA) chest radiography in a tertiary health care centre were categorized into 3 groups to assess the effects of exposure (tube current/time mAs) reduction on clinical image quality using in film screen (FS) chest radiography. Images were obtained at existing departmental exposure protocol (T1) while a record of the exposure factors was made. Test exposures obtained by reducing average mAs values by 20% (T2) and 50% (T3) were used to obtain radiographic images of patients following normal ethically based clinical practice. To make up for the reduction in mAs, a 4% increase in the T1 kVp was used. The quality of images obtained with each exposure protocol was studied by two consultant radiologists, using the image quality criteria of the Commission of European Communities (CEC). Assessors used the method of ranked scoring and worked independently. RESULTS: Results showed no change in image quality following the 20% exposure (mAs) reduction. However, there was a significant change in image quality at 50% reduction of mAs values (P < 0.05) with higher image quality scores suggesting improved perceptibility of all assessed criteria among the observers. CONCLUSION: Improving radiation protection of the patient while maintaining diagnostic quality of the radiographic image at reduced exposures is a clinically desirable development. This study will find application in current efforts at optimization of radiography procedures in the area of study.
Subject(s)
Radiation Dosage , Radiography, Thoracic/methods , X-Ray Intensifying Screens , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Nigeria , Radiation Protection , Statistics, NonparametricABSTRACT
A retrospective study of 1000 chest radiographs randomly selected from various government and private owned hospitals in the southern part of Nigeria covering a period of twenty years was carried out. Accuracy in patient positioning; beam collimation and identification of radiographs were assessed as indicators for quality assurance and radiation protection. The result showed that for male 59 were rotated and 41 were not. For the female; 60 were rotated while 39 were not. 95.30 radiographs were inadequately collimated; and 69.30 were properly identified. This suggests poor quality and exposure of patients to unnecessary radiation though more attention was paid to identification of radiographs
