Estimating the number of ≥100 mSv patients from CT, fluoroscopic guided interventions, and PET exams in 27 OECD countries.

PURPOSE: To estimate the number of patients in 27 OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries receiving a cumulative effective dose (CED) ≥100 mSv from recurrent imaging in computed tomography (CT), fluoroscopic guided intervention (FGI), and positron emission tomography (PET) examinations. METHODS: CT and PET utilization and population data for 27 OECD countries were retrieved from a publicly available OECD 2022 report, and FGI utilization data from the European Commission 2015 Report. Data on the number of exams per patient of each modality and the prevalences of ≥100 mSv patients were extracted via a literature review and used to estimate the total number of imaging patients and ≥100 mSv patients in each country. RESULTS: An estimated 1.36 million patients (0.27 %) received a dose ≥100 mSv among the 513 million residents of the 27 countries. One-third of the countries have more than 3 patients/1,000 population with ≥100 mSv dose in a 5-year period ranging from 1.09 (Finland) to 4.52 (Belgium). A linear trend between the number of ≥100 mSv patients and the total number of CTs in a country was observed, and this can be used for extrapolation at the regional or global level. CONCLUSION: This is the first study estimating the number of patients who may have received CED ≥100 mSv through recurrent multimodality (CT, FGI, and PET) exams. With the number of such patients being large, a call for attention is needed from relevant national and international organizations.

Duke Scholars

Author Madan Mohan Rehani Radiology