Patient radiation biological risk in computed tomography angiography procedure.
Computed tomography angiography (CTA) has become the most valuable imaging modality for the diagnosis of blood vessel diseases; however, patients are exposed to high radiation doses and the probability of cancer and other biological effects is increased. The objectives of this study were to measure the patient radiation dose during a CTA procedure and to estimate the radiation dose and biological effects. The study was conducted in two radiology departments equipped with 64-slice CT machines (Aquilion) calibrated according to international protocols. A total of 152 patients underwent brain, lower limb, chest, abdomen, and pelvis examinations. The effective radiation dose was estimated using ImPACT scan software. Cancer and biological risks were estimated using the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) conversion factors. The mean patient dose value per procedure (dose length product [DLP], mGy·cm) for all examinations was 437.8 ± 166, 568.8 ± 194, 516.0 ± 228, 581.8 ± 175, and 1082.9 ± 290 for the lower limbs, pelvis, abdomen, chest, and cerebral, respectively. The lens of the eye, uterus, and ovaries received high radiation doses compared to thyroid and testis. The overall patient risk per CTA procedure ranged between 15 and 36 cancer risks per 1 million procedures. Patient risk from CTA procedures is high during neck and abdomen procedures. Special concern should be provided to the lens of the eye and thyroid during brain CTA procedures. Patient dose reduction is an important consideration; thus, staff should optimize the radiation dose during CTA procedures.
Department of Radiological Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, PO Box 10219, Riyadh 11433, Saudi Arabia.
M
M
Alkhorayef
Department of Radiological Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, PO Box 10219, Riyadh 11433, Saudi Arabia.
E
E
Babikir
Department of Medical Physics, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, PO Box 7897, Riyadh 11159, Saudi Arabia.
A
A
Alrushoud
Department of Medical Technical, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nora Bint Abdulrahman University, PO Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia.
H
H
Al-Mohammed
Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Radiology and Medical Imaging Department, PO Box 422, Alkharj 11942, Saudi Arabia.
A
A
Sulieman
CTA; Computed tomography; Effective dose; Medical exposure; Radiation risk