Determination of the diagnostic dose reference level (DRL) for low and middle complexity procedures at the SES Caldas University Hospital

Authors

  • Estefanía Amaya Ríos Área de Física Médica Hospitalaria, Servicios Especiales de Salud, Hospital Universitario de Caldas (SES-HUC), Manizales, Colombia
  • Erika Muñoz Arango Área de Física Médica Hospitalaria, Servicios Especiales de Salud, Hospital Universitario de Caldas (SES-HUC), Manizales, Colombia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32685/2590-7468/invapnuclear.5.2021.604

Keywords:

diagnostic dose reference levels, radiation dose, radiology, computed tomography, mammography, fluoroscopy

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How to Cite

[1]
E. . Amaya Ríos and E. T. Muñoz Arango, “Determination of the diagnostic dose reference level (DRL) for low and middle complexity procedures at the SES Caldas University Hospital”, rev. investig. apl. nucl., no. 5, pp. 84–98, Dec. 2021.

Issue

No. 5 (2021)

Section

Articles

Published

2021-12-23
Abstract Downloads References

Abstract

Purpose: Diagnostic dose reference levels (DRLs) are a feasible tool for maximizing radiation protection  during medical diagnostic exposures. DRL determination is a requirement for obtaining radiation ionizing operational licenses for radiodiagnostic facilities (or departments) in Colombia. The objective of this study was to determine institutional DRLs for different ionizing radiation devices used in common diagnostic procedures for typical anatomical areas. 
Methods: Two conventional radiology equipments, one mammography equipment, one computed tomography (CT) equipment, and a C-arm fluoroscope were investigated in this study. Statistical samples were classified in terms of the study type, anatomical area of interest, sample size, and patient weight range. The sample sizes varied with the diagnostic technique, following the recommendations of the technical document “Diagnostic reference levels in medical imaging. ICRP Publication 135”. The delivered dose to each patient was determined by registering the estimated dose by the imaging acquisition device. Statistical analyses were performed using box plots and frequency distributions, with the third quartile defined as the DRL for each image acquisition technique.
Results: The DRLs for conventional radiography were lower than 15 dGy.cm2 for patients weighing between 50 and 80 kg and lower than 27 dGy.cm2 for patients weighing more than 80 kg. The DRLs for mammography, based on the mean glandular dose were lower than 2.7 mGy for oblique projections with thicknesses between 45 and 94 mm. The computed tomography volume dose index (CTDIvol) and dose-length product (DLP) were lower than 41.4 mGy and 907 mGy.cm, respectively, where higher doses were found for the cranium and minor doses were found for the abdomen for patients weighing between 50 and 80 kg. The DRLs for C-arm procedures were 2.69 Gy.cm2 for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography procedures (CPRE), 2.88 Gy.cm2 for hysterosalpingography procedures (HSG), and 9.22 Gy.cm2 for barium enema.
Conclusions: The dose reference levels were determined for SES HUC diagnostic procedures that were comparable to published values based on similar analyses using analysis methods suggested by international organizations.

References

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