Comparison of occupational doses and practice of the interventional cardiologists in one department

Abstract

Introduction Occupational dosimetry is a challenge in interventional cardiology. Many professionals do not regularly use their personal dosimeter and it is difficult to assess the reason for higher doses when they appear. Purpose Comparison of the practice and personal doses of five different interventional cardiologists was done. The purpose of the study was to answer the question: Which is the reason for higher personal doses – radiology practice or complexity of the procedures? Materials and methods The survey was done for two months period in one department in Bulgaria with two angiography units. Total number of 412 patient data – 232 CA, 113 PCA, 41 procedures for acute myocardial infarction and 26 procedures of higher complexity, was collected. An additional dosimeter was used for assessment of the cardiologists’ practice and dose. Both of the dosimeters were worn under their lead aprons. The additional dosimeter was worn for procedures of lower complexity and the main one – for all procedures done during the survey. A comparison of the received doses from the different dosimeters was done. Results For two of the cardiologists, A and B, the results of the additional dosimeters worn during procedures of lower complexity showed similar results (0.21 mSv (A) and 0.18 mSv (B)). The main dosimeter worn during all types of procedures showed two times higher dose for A (1.36 mSv) compared to B (0.63 mSv). The average values of the doses for patients treated by A are two times higher for CA compared to B but also the complexity of the procedures is of higher magnitude. The analysis of the practice, patient doses and complexity of the procedures was done for all five interventional cardiologists. Conclusion The main reason for higher occupational doses is a combination of complexity of the procedure, the individual treatment of every patient and the difference in the radiology practice.