How much should we be concerned about cumulative effective doses in medical imaging?

13Citations
Citations of this article
27Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

The International Atomic Energy Agency issued a statement calling for action to strengthen the radiation protection of patients undergoing recurrent imaging. This followed reports of patients receiving cumulative effective doses over 100 mSv from multiple computed tomography examinations. In order to evaluate excess risks of cancer incidence among UK patients, data from an exposure management system covering three hospitals within one trust have been studied over 51/2 years. Cumulative effective doses for 105 757 patients, from whom 719 (0.68%) received effective dose over 100 mSv, have been analysed using age and sex specific risk factors for stochastic effects. Two cancers might be expected to be initiated in the patients receiving over 100 mSv, while five might be expected to develop cancer among patients receiving 50-100 mSv. However, the calculations ignore health conditions for which the patients are being treated that may shorten their lives, and rely on the linear-no-threshold dose-effect model which is a subject of debate, so they are likely to overestimate cancer incidence. If health of the patients receiving >100 mSv is taken into account, the risk of mortality from cancer initiated by medical exposure might be the order of 1 in 2000. Recommendations on further strengthening of optimisation should be applied to imaging procedures for all patients with special focus on those performed on children and adolescents.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Martin, C. J., & Barnard, M. (2022). How much should we be concerned about cumulative effective doses in medical imaging? Journal of Radiological Protection, 42(1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6498/ac31c1

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free