Clinical use of a gadolinium filter in pediatric radiography.

Patient exposure is an important consideration in pediatric radiography. Gadolinium filtration can be used to reduce exposure while maintaining contrast. Matched sets of pediatric radiographs were produced using aluminum and gadolinium filtration. In almost all cases, no difference or only a minimal difference in diagnostic quality was judged to be present. Patient exposure can be reduced up to a factor of 2 using a gadolinium filter, despite doubling the product of tube current and exposure time (mAs). Because images of comparable diagnostic quality can be produced using gadolinium filtration, with a reduction in radiation exposure to the patient, its use is recommended in pediatric radiography.