ArticleEmergency radiology2011
Whole-body CT in polytrauma patients: effect of arm positioning on thoracic and abdominal image quality.
Article in Emergency radiology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The influence of arm positions on abdominal image quality of whole-body computed tomography in trauma: systematic review.Emergency radiology · 2020Pooled it
- Impact of arm position on low dose dual-source CT one-step aortic and cerebral-carotid artery angiography image quality and radiation dose.BMC medical imaging · 2025Trial
- Dose reduction in 64-row whole-body CT in multiple trauma: an optimized CT protocol with iterative image reconstruction on a gemstone-based scintillator.The British journal of radiology · 2016Trial
- Emergency CT head and neck imaging: effects of swimmer's position on dose and image quality.European radiology · 2014Trial
- Radiation dose reduction through short scan protocols and arms-out positioning in clavicular CT for forensic age estimation.International journal of legal medicine · 2026Article
- Dose-reduction strategies in whole-body CT for injured patients in the emergency department: a scoping review.International journal of emergency medicine · 2026Review
- CT of the medial clavicular epiphysis for forensic age estimation - raised arms position recommended.International journal of legal medicine · 2025Article
- [Between clinical and forensic imaging : Differences, similarities and legal framework].Radiologie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2024Review
- An automated screening model for aortic emergencies using convolutional neural networks and cropped computed tomography angiography images of the aorta.International journal of computer assisted radiology and surgery · 2023Article
- Changing the Patient's Position: Pitfalls and Benefits for Radiation Dose and Image Quality of Computed Tomography in Polytrauma.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Feasibility Study of Dose Modulation for Reducing Radiation Dose with Arms-Down Patient Position in Abdominal Computed Tomography.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- European Society of Emergency Radiology: guideline on radiological polytrauma imaging and service (short version).Insights into imaging · 2020Article
- [Update polytrauma and computed tomography in ongoing resuscitation : ABCDE and "diagnose first what kills first"].Der Radiologe · 2020Review
- Detection of fractures of hand and forearm in whole-body CT for suspected polytrauma in intubated patients.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2020Article
- Influence of arm position and respiration technique during liver examinations on the detectability of mammary lesions.Radiological physics and technology · 2018Article
- Article
- Whole-body computed tomography in trauma patients: optimization of the patient scanning position significantly shortens examination time while maintaining diagnostic image quality.Therapeutics and clinical risk management · 2018Article
- Article
- Imaging algorithms and CT protocols in trauma patients: survey of Swiss emergency centers.European radiology · 2017Article
- MDCT of blunt renal trauma: imaging findings and therapeutic implications.Insights into imaging · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to assess the influence of different arm positioning techniques on thoracic and abdominal image quality and radiation dose of whole-body trauma CT (wbCT). One hundred and fifty polytrauma patients (104 male, mean age 47 ± 19) underwent wbCT with arms elevated above the head (group A, n=50), alongside the abdomen (group B, n=50), and on a pillow ventrally to the chest with both arms flexed (group C, n=50). Two blinded, independent observers measured image noise and rated image quality (scores 1-3) of the liver, aorta, spleen, spine, and lower lungs. Radiation dose parameters were noted, and the abdomens' anterior-posterior diameter and scan lengths were measured. Interreader agreements for image noise (r=0.86; p<0.001) and subjective image quality (k=0.71-0.84) were good. Noise was lower (p<0.05), image quality of the liver, aorta, spleen, and spine was higher, and radiation dose lower in group A than in groups B and C (p<0.001, each). Image quality of the spleen, liver, and aorta were higher in group C than in group B (p<0.05, each). No significant differences in scan length (p=0.61) were found among groups. Abdominal anterior-posterior diameter correlated significantly with noise (r=0.82; p<0.01) and dose (r=0.47; p<0.001). Estimated effective radiation doses were significantly (p<0.001) higher in groups B (21.2 mSv) and C (21.9 mSv) as compared to A (16.1 mSv). In wbCT for polytrauma patients, positioning of the arms above the head results in better image quality and lower radiation dose. Placing the flexed arms on a large pillow ventrally to the chest significantly improves image quality as compared to positioning alongside the abdomen.
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Registered trials
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