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

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 ( < 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.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level II/lesser quality RCT or prospective comparative study.