Radiation protection of patients in diagnostic and interventional radiology in Asian countries: impact of an IAEA project.

Journal Article (Journal Article)

Recognizing the lack of information on image quality and patient doses in most countries in Asia, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) initiated a project to assess the status of imaging technology, practice in conventional radiography, mammography, computed tomography (CT) and interventional procedures, and to implement optimisation actions. A total of 20 countries participated. Obsolete practices of use of fluoroscopy for positioning, photofluorography, chest fluoroscopy and conventional tomography were reported by 4 out of 7 countries that provided this information. Low-kV technique for chest radiography is in use in participating countries for 20-85% of cases, and manual processing is in 5-85% of facilities in 5 countries. Instances of the use of adult CT protocol for children in three participating countries were observed in 10-40% of hospitals surveyed. After implementation of a Quality Control programme, the image quality in conventional radiography improved by zero to 13 percentage points in certain countries and dose reduction was from 10% to 85%. In mammography, poor quality, ranging from 10 to 29% of images in different countries was observed. The project increased attention to dose quantities and dose levels in computed tomography, although doses in most cases were not higher than reference levels. In this study 16-19% of patients in interventional cardiology received doses that have potential for either stochastic risk or tissue reaction. This multi-national study is the first of its kind in the Asia, and it provided insight into the situation and opportunities for improvement.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Rehani, MM; Ciraj-Bjelac, O; Al-Naemi, HM; Al-Suwaidi, JS; El-Nachef, L; Khosravi, HR; Kharita, MH; Muthuvelu, P; Pallewatte, AS; Juan, BCS; Shaaban, M; Zaman, A

Published Date

  • October 2012

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 81 / 10

Start / End Page

  • e982 - e989

PubMed ID

  • 22835877

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1872-7727

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1016/j.ejrad.2012.06.019

Language

  • eng

Conference Location

  • Ireland