In the article, we will consider at what age children undergo fluorography.
For the first time, a person encounters this study primarily in adolescence. A special car drives up to the educational institution, and the students go through a new procedure for themselves. However, at what age do children undergo fluorography? Is it possible to appoint her newborns in the hospital, preschoolers and primary school children, and what is the reason for this? This extreme measure, according to experts, should be addressed only if the child is intolerant of the Mantoux test, a preventive tool for detecting childhood tuberculosis. Priority even in this case are sputum collection for examination and an X-ray of the lungs.
Lung diagnosis
To combat the spread of a serious infectious disease - tuberculosis - every year, children and adults, starting from school, carry out lung diagnostics for prevention.
The examination, which is carried out using x-ray radiation, makes it possible to identify in the early stages of a violation of the development of the respiratory system and proceed to their early treatment. Screening of the mediastinum and lung is performed by fluorography. For the early diagnosis of tuberculosis and other serious pathologies of the respiratory organs, this is the safest, most economical and quickest way to study. In addition to pulmonary diseases, the procedure establishes changes in the bone structures of the chest, diagnoses disorders in the activity of blood vessels and the heart.
From what age children are prescribed fluorography, interesting to many.
Not a universal method
It must be understood that the result of an examination by x-rays is not a universal method for determining the stage of pathology and obtaining the whole clinical picture. It is most often used as a screening measure to identify some abnormalities in the development or structure of organs, and a doctor of the corresponding profile is responsible for detailed information about the violation based on analyzes and studies of narrow specialization.
So, at what age can fluorography be done? There are cases of examination of the lungs in early infancy. If there is a medical condition, begin to do fluorography from the first days after birth. Currently, there are many other diagnostic methods that can determine the diseases of the respiratory system. They include:
- biochemical and general blood tests;
- research through the apparatus of functional diagnostics, that is, ultrasound;
- radiography;
- bronchoscopy;
- spirogram with spirography.
Such methods allow you to identify with high accuracy the initial stages of the disease, but with the least negative consequences for the patient's body.
Indications
At what age do children undergo fluorography and for what indications?
This study is an uninformative way to diagnose lung diseases. Despite the fact that this method is the simplest for the early diagnosis and determination of respiratory diseases, many parents begin to think about whether it is advisable to use it for small patients. Doctors may decide to scan the sternum if there is the following indication:
- when a child suffers from coughing longer than three weeks;
- when a dry cough is also accompanied by a sensation of pain in the chest area;
- when the cough is paroxysmal, accompanied by a low-grade fever for longer than two weeks;
- when people with tuberculosis were found in the environment of the child.
Parents have the opportunity to refuse to perform fluorography if they believe that this is correct. However, you need to understand that in case of urgent need for an X-ray examination, the baby must necessarily correlate the benefits and harms for the body.
From what age you need to do fluorography, you can check with your doctor.
Contraindications
The main contraindications for the implementation of the fluorography procedure are:
- the age of the child is up to fifteen years;
- poor patient health (dizziness, coordination disorders, lethargy after various diseases).
Fluorography does more physical damage to children than does an adult. The radiation that the child receives during the procedure can significantly worsen the state of children's immunity, which entails a decrease in resistance to infections and environmental viruses. It is for this reason that young children do not undergo fluorography. A safer diagnostic method is an ultrasound examination of the chest organs, which in some cases is not inferior to an x-ray in terms of information.
At what age do children undergo fluorography?
In accordance with the orders of the departments of health protection, such a procedure as fluorography must be done every year by senior students. It is well written in SanPiN, at what age they begin to do fluorography: both this procedure and an x-ray of the sternum up to the age of fifteen are contraindicated. As an exception, there are cases when the diagnosis is already available. The doctor directs the child with the parents to the procedure, however, even in this case, an x-ray is taken.
Why is the procedure not suitable for children? Effects
Often, adults go to the FOG reluctantly, although they realize that alternative methods will take much more nerves and time. Children are not allowed to the procedure for the following reasons: the child’s body is especially sensitive to ionizing radiation, which can result in genetic and somatic disorders.
Since the organs are more closely located in children, the required proportion of exposure should be even greater for them than for adults, which is not allowed by the norms established in SanPiN. With an acceptable dosage of exposure, the image will turn out to be uninformative. At an early age, tissues are highly sensitive, and radiation can cause tumors and tumors.
At what age can a teenager do fluorography?
In accordance with the norms of SanPiN, the proportion of exposure from the age of fifteen and after is the same. However, the preferred diagnostic method against tuberculosis for adolescents is digital x-ray, which irradiates 700 times lower than conventional fluorography. By region, the dose of radiation varies. In the country, on average, in accordance with Hygienic requirements, it is equal to 0.87 mSv per year. However, in the Magadan Oblast, Buryatia, and St. Petersburg, the indicator was increased to 1.64 mSv per year, twice as much as in other regions. Such requirements apply to all people, but it was also established there that the annual dose of 1 mSv per year cannot be exceeded. In adolescents, the process of passing this procedure does not differ from adults, however, there are two more ways:
- A fluorography machine drives up to an educational institution, and those who have reached the age of fifteen, as well as those who have not done fluorography during the past year, undergo a procedure.
- Schoolchildren are sent to classes for examination, and in the clinic, already in place, the necessary pictures are taken.
It should be noted that it is important to monitor the frequency of the procedure: if it was done 8–9 months before the actual medical examination, it does not need to be repeated. It is recommended to contact the place of residence at the right time and take pictures. You don’t need to prepare for fluorography, but the only advice from doctors is not to overwork, because the diaphragm that separates the peritoneal cavity and the chest is visible in the image, and if there is excess pressure in it, this can affect the images.
Is it done in the hospital?
When looking at the official documents of the Ministry of Health, one can see that in Russia no one considers such a procedure to be the only correct one. Radiation doses are high, and the appropriateness of their effects on a healthy person is low. Fluorography in childhood is prohibited by law, and from the age of fifteen, digital x-rays are recommended, irradiating at 0.03 mSv. Parents can fight for the rights of their child, preferring x-rays to fluorography, but it takes strength and nerves. On the other hand, children's health is always more important than any costs.
We examined at what age fluorography is done. We hope that this information will help you to maintain your health for a long time.