Medical radiation exposure of the Czech Republic paediatric population due to diagnostic nuclear medicine.
BACKGROUND
The information on the results of the survey of collective effective dose SE to children in the Czech Republic (CR) due to nuclear medicine examinations performed during the one-year period July 1995-June 1996.


METHODS
The estimate of SE was based on the annual frequency of nuclear medicine procedures and the type and amount of administered radiopharmaceuticals provided by the General Health Insurance Company covering 75% of the CR population.


RESULTS
In the period considered, 15,281 examinations of children younger than 18 years were performed, which represented 7.5% of total nuclear medicine examinations in the CR. The annual SE 43.8 man Sv formed 5.1% of the collective effective dose to all patients examined by nuclear medicine procedures in the CR. The contributions of procedures in various body systems of children to the annual SE: urinary tract 32.8%, bone 30.4%, brain 12.8 %, cardiovascular 6.4%, GIT 6.0%, thyroid 4.4%, lungs 3.0%, other 4.2%. In comparison with a similar survey performed in the CR in 1987 (based on a questionnaire) there was an increase in SE to children younger than 15 years by a factor of 2.8, mainly due to the expansion of kidney and bone investigations.


CONCLUSIONS
The mean effective dose per exam to children younger than 15 years was 60% of that for adults, which was in agreement with the requirement that the radiation burden of children should not exceed that of adults. The use of data from the Insurance Company for regular conducting of such surveys appeared to be not as cumbersome and time-consuming as questionnaire surveys.
Husák
V
V
Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital and Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
Petrová
K
K
Prouza
Z
Z
Myslivecek
M
M