title: Determining and Managing Fetal Radiation Dose from Diagnostic Radiology Procedures in Turkey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We intended to calculate approximate fetal doses in pregnant women who underwent diagnostic radiology procedures and to evaluate the safety of their pregnancies.
  
  
  METHODS
  We contacted hospitals in different cities in Turkey where requests for fetal dose calculation are usually sent. Fetal radiation exposure was calculated for 304 cases in 218 pregnant women with gestational ages ranging from 5 days to 19 weeks, 2 days. FetDose software (ver. 4.0) was used in fetal dose calculations for radiographic and computed tomography (CT) procedures. The body was divided into three zones according to distance from the fetus. The first zone consisted of the head area, the lower extremities below the knee, and the upper extremities; the second consisted of the cervicothoracic region and upper thighs; and the third consisted of the abdominopelvic area. Fetal doses from radiologic procedures between zones were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test and a Bonferroni-corrected Mann-Whitney U-test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average fetal doses from radiography and CT in the first zone were 0.05 ± 0.01 mGy and 0.81 ± 0.04 mGy, respectively; 0.21 ± 0.05 mGy and 1.77 ± 0.22 mGy, respectively, in the second zone; and 6.42 ± 0.82 mGy and 22.94 ± 1.28 mGy, respectively, in the third zone (p < 0.001). Our results showed that fetal radiation exposures in our group of pregnant women did not reach the level (50 mGy) that is known to increase risk for congenital anomalies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fetal radiation exposure in the diagnostic radiology procedures in our study did not reach risk levels that might have indicated abortion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging Techniques, Istanbul University, Istanbul 34090, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozbayrak
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Physics, Faculty of Science, Istanbul University, Istanbul 34090, Turkey.
authors.forename: Iffet
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cavdar
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetic, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, Istanbul 34090, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seven
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, Istanbul 34090, Turkey.
authors.forename: Lebriz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Uslu
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, Istanbul 34090, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nami
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yeyin
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Physics, Faculty of Science, Istanbul University, Istanbul 34090, Turkey.
authors.forename: Handan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanyildizi
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, Istanbul 34090, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abuqbeitah
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, Istanbul 34090, Turkey.
authors.forename: A Serdar
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Acikgoz
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, Istanbul 34090, Turkey.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tuten
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, Istanbul 34090, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Demir
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000528:radiation effects*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006257:Head / Q000528:radiation effects; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011839:Radiation, Ionizing; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D012984:Software; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014421:Turkey
keywords: Computed tomography; Fetus; Radiation effects; Radiography