title: Indication-based diagnostic reference levels for adult CT-examinations in Finland.
abstract: A diagnostic reference level (DRL) is a predefined dose level, which should not be exceeded in an examination that is conducted appropriately on an average-sized patient. Since dose from only one examination should not be compared with a DRL, the average dose from a good sample of at least 10 average-sized patients should be compared. The previous DRLs for computed tomography (CT)-examinations for adults in Finland were issued in 2007 and only covered examinations conducted on a particular body region. Because the image quality requirements, and thus the dose needed, vary between different indications, there has been a call for indication-based DRLs for CT. The new indication-based DRLs for CT came into effect on June 2013. They are based on a dose survey performed in 2012. Doses were collected from examinations conducted on a particular body region, based on some indication and from some special examination types. The DRLs were set according to the third quartile approach. On average, the DRLs for a particular body region dropped ∼ 20 % from the previous DRLs.
authors.affiliation: STUK-Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Laippatie 4, Helsinki 00880, Finland atte.lajunen@stuk.fi.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lajunen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D001835:Body Weight; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011835:Radiation Protection; D011874:Radiometry; D012016:Reference Values; D015898:Tomography Scanners, X-Ray Computed; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*