Effects of High Doses of X-Ray on Hematological Parameters and Morphology of Red Blood Cells in Human Blood

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of X-ray radiation on some hematological parameters, morphology of red blood cells (RBC) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) analysis of human blood using computed tomography (CT) scanner. Material and Methods: For the purpose of the study, 5 ml of wholeblood was drawn from vein puncture of 28 healthy people and divided into two equal parts in ethylendiamintetracetic acid (EDTA) tubes. The first 28 tubes were assigned as the controls. The second 28 tubes were divided into 4 groups of 7 cases, irradiated to (3, 6, 9, and 12) Gy, X-ray from a computed tomography CT-scan machine. Results: The results showed that no significant difference was observed for the hematological parameters and ESR analysis. However, there was a significant decrease in the radius of RBCs.In this regard, the mean RBC counts were obtained as 6.267 ± 0.528, 6.867 ± 0.476, 7.167 ± 0.535, and 6.55 ± 0.295 μm after exposure to the radiation doses of 3, 6, 9, and 12 Gy, respectively. The crenation of the cells was also observed, and the percentage of crenation were <5%, 15%, 40%, and 60% after irradiation to 3, 6, 9, and 12 Gy, respectively. Conclusion: The in vitro irradiation of human blood to different X-ray doses (i.e.,3, 6, 9, and 12 Gy), resulted in the enhancement of RBCs crenation with increasing the dose, and reduction of the cell radius compared to those in the control groups. However, the hematological parameters and ESR analysis were not statistically affected.