| Summary: | Introduction: During computed tomography examinations variation of dose for pediatric and adults has been increasing widely, even when automated exposure control is used. Hence, the objective of this study was to assess the computed tomography head local diagnostic reference levels in the Amhara region.Material and Methods: Active computed tomography scanners in the Amhara region were identified and then both retrospective and prospective technique was used to collect data for pediatric and adult head examinations. Scan parameters, patient profiles, and CT dose indicators were collected from 334 patients. Pediatric patients were grouped into three age (years) groups of (1-5, 5-10, and 10-15). The local diagnostic reference levels were established from third quartile values of computed tomography dose index and dose length product. SPSS software version 26 and Microsoft Excel 2016 were used for the entire data analysis.Results: The calculated 3rd quartile values of computed tomography dose index and dose length product, for adult head examinations, were 49 mGy and 1806 mGy.cm respectively. Similarly, for pediatric head CT scan, computed tomography dose index (mGy) and dose length product (mGy.cm) values for age (years) groups (1-5, 5-10, and 10-15) were (30, 2015); (35, 1221); and (43, 2051) respectively.The investigated 3rd quartile values of computed tomography dose index and dose length product were higher than other national and international reported values.Conclusion: For all pediatric and adult patients , there are differences in the local diagnostic reference levels between the CT centers and the same scanners, indicating the need for dose optimization.
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