Do radiologists' radiation-related opinions predict their fluoroscopy doses?

Abstract

The influence of radiologists' radiation-related opinions to fluoroscopy doses was studied. Dose-area products (DAP), screening times and the number of exposures per patient were recorded in 528 barium enema examinations performed by 23 residents (14 female, 9 male). The residents' scored opinions (on the general radiation risk in radiology, the importance of radiation protection in radiology and their estimate of their own dose level on which they operate when compared with their colleagues) were correlated with these radiation variables. Residents' opinion on the importance of radiation protection correlated positively with screening time (r=0.402, p=0.008) and with DAP (r=0.333, p=0.028). The female residents (score 8.3) considered radiation protection more important than the males (score 7.4, p=0.029). The stability of these opinions was suggested by finding them not to correlate with residents' age or radiological experience. Residents could not reliably estimate their true dose levels, which were compared with the estimated dose levels. Fluoroscopy behaviour and doses seem to be affected by psychological factors. Further psychologically oriented studies might assist in revealing such factors and in developing proper teaching methods for radiologists to control their doses.