Compendium of national guidelines for imaging the pregnant patient

OBJECTIVE: Diagnostic imaging performed during pregnancy, particularly if it involves the use of ionizing radiation, can be a source of great anxiety for both health care providers and patients. Especially with the growing public awareness of the increasing radiation from medical imaging, including CT, it is important to have a contemporary policy for imaging evaluation in the pregnant or potentially pregnant patient. Implementation of such policies and guidelines would be useful for those developing or modifying policies for imaging pregnant or potentially pregnant patients; those developing regional or national guidelines or recommendations (i.e., professional specialty societies, including emergency medicine, radiology, and obstetrics and gynecology); and groups such as National Council on Radiation Protection, advocacy groups, and individuals writing research grants or articles. CONCLUSION: To this end, a compendium of resources representing national organization guidelines would be useful. The purpose of this study is to review available resources for pertinent recommendations that can be used to develop or update policies for imaging during pregnancy, as well as to serve as a reference document for preparing reports, scientific articles, or other documents by individuals or organizations, including regulatory agencies.