CT Examination Data Analysis as an Effective Method to Stimulate Patient Dose Reduction

Abstract

Introduction: Radiation exposure from Computed Tomography (CT) examinations remains a concern due to the high doses it is associated with. In this study over 1000 patients’ dose information was collected from 11 CT scanners in Greece to evaluate the radiation dose levels in Greece and to examine their compliance with the national Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRLs). Materials and Methods: The information was collected mainly from CT dose reports and a statistical analysis of the Volumetric Computerized Tomography Dose Index (CTDIvol) and Dose Length Product (DLP) values was performed to evaluate their distribution among the studied sites and to identify the factors of overexposure and over usage of CT. Results and Conclusion: The majority of the examinations satisfied the national DRLs. Cases of overexposure were identified and recorded. A great discrepancy was found in the number of scans performed and the practices followed per type of examination, a fact that had a greater impact on patient exposure than the scanning protocol parameters.