A decrease in kilovoltage and an increase in milliampere-seconds together will result in:

When kilovoltage is decreased, it results in a lower quality of x-ray beam, meaning that fewer high-energy photons are available to penetrate the patient and reach the receptor. This could potentially increase the patient dose because, in order to compensate for the decreased penetrability of the x-rays due to the reduced kilovoltage, the milliampere-seconds (mAs) is increased. The increase in mAs allows for more x-ray photons to be produced, which increases the overall exposure to the patient.

Increased mAs contributes to more radiation being generated, which, when combined with lower kilovoltage, can lead to a greater overall absorbed dose in the patient. This situation emphasizes the intricate balance between kilovoltage and milliampere-seconds in x-ray imaging, where adjustments to one parameter may necessitate counterbalancing changes to the other to maintain adequate image quality while considering patient safety.

While there could be implications for exposure latitude and spatial resolution with changes in kilovoltage and mAs, the most impactful immediate outcome when considering both factors is the increase in patient dose due to the compensatory increase in mAs alongside the decrease in kilovoltage.