Assessment of patient's peak skin dose during abdominopelvic embolization using radiochromic (Gafchromic) films.

Abstract

To assess the value of the routine use of radiochromic films in abdominopelvic embolization procedures to improve patient follow-up. A total of 55patients who underwent transcatheter abdominopelvic embolization were prospectively included. Six types of procedures were evaluated including hepatic chemoembolization (HCE), gonadal veins embolization (GVE), uterine elective embolization (UEE), uterine urgent embolization (UUE), abdominal elective embolization (AEE), and abdominal urgent embolization (AUE). Dosimetric indicators (DIs) such as air-kerma (AK) and kerma-area-product (KAP) were collected and peak skin dose (PSD) was measured with radiochromic films. Correlations between PSD and DIs were searched for. The mean (±standard deviation [SD]) PSD for the various procedures were: 1033±502mGy for HCE; 476±271mGy for GVE; 460±171 mGy for UEE; 531±263mGy for UUE; 708±896mGy for AEE; 683±392mGy for AUE. Strong correlations were observed between PSD and DIs (r=0.974 for AK and r=0.925 for KAP). PSD was>2Gy in one procedure and all procedures (7/132) procedures resulted in AK>2Gy, mostly for HCE and AEE. Dosimetry using radiochromic film is only appropriate for HCE, AEE and AUE, whereas dose-mapping systems present a more suitable solution for all embolizations including those with AK that occasionally exceed 2Gy.