A 9-years follow-up of occupational radiation doses in an interventional cardiology department

Abstract

Introduction There is a much concern regarding occupational radiation dose of the interventional cardiologists with numerous papers presenting their results during the last 10 years. Purpose A 9-years follow-up of interventional cardiology personal dosimetry records was done in one department with two angiography units in a big university hospital in Bulgaria. Materials and methods Personal dosimetry records of twelve cardiologists were recorded using personal thermoluminescent dosemeters worn under their lead aprons. Different analysis of the number and complexity of procedures was done. Results The number of procedures performed in the department increased from 3018 in 2007 to the maximum of 3256 in 2008, with a minimum of 2235 in 2012, followed by a new increase to 2440 in 2013, and reaching a constant level of approximately 2310 patients during the last two years. A number of individual doses in the range of 15.5–19.5 mSv per year were recorded from the dosemeter under the apron, close to the regulatory dose limit of 20 mSv per year. Strong increase in individual doses for a number of cardiologists was observed during the last 5 years, following the changes in the organization of the department and the team members. The reason for such a trend is in the uneven distribution of the number of patients between the cardiologists and the uneven distribution of the most complicated interventional procedures. Conclusion The observed trends prompted actions on better organization and control, and a program for increasing the radiation protection awareness was introduced in 2014, which resulted in 2 fold decrease in personal doses for some of the staff members. The most effective actions involved increased radiation protection awareness and training, steps for patient-dose reduction using all available dose reduction options of the angiography equipment and the systematic use of radiation protection tools including ceiling-suspended protective screens.