Abstract
Children are more sensitive to radiation than adults, so radiation protection in paediatric radiology deserves special attention. This work estimates the effective doses and body organ doses due to chest examinations in infants and paediatrics. Two examination incidences, AP and PA for chest X-ray exposures were evaluated and compared with respect to the radiographic technique employed. This study was carried out in three paediatric hospitals in Sudan. The age intervals considered were 0 - 1 year, 1 - 5 years, 5 - 10 years and 10 - 15 years. The results obtained for organ doses and effective doses were calculated using a software package developed by the Radiological Protection Centre of the Saint George’s Hospital, London. Effective dose values were also evaluated considering weight intervals from 1 - 10 kg, 10 - 20 kg, 20 - 30 kg and 30 - 40 kg. Large discrepancies were encountered between the three hospitals, probably due to the different radiographic technique employed, calibration and maintenance of the X-ray equipment, technicians’ expertise, processing conditions.
Highlights
Quality Assurance Programmes in diagnostic radiology have been developed in several countries in the past 16 years, mainly in Europe [1,2]
The effective dose, which is directly related with the risk, depends on several factors: radiographic technique, processing conditions, equipment calibration and performance, film-screen sensibility and the technicians’ expertise, among others
In hospital B, the doses are always higher compared to hospital A, so care should be taken in this hospital to avoid the potential health hazards to paediatrics patients due to exposure during X-ray diagnostic
Summary
Quality Assurance Programmes in diagnostic radiology have been developed in several countries in the past 16 years, mainly in Europe [1,2]. The main goals were to improve the diagnostic information and to reduce the patient dose to a minimum ALARA principle [5]. QAP [12] intends to reduce rejection rates, improve image quality, reduce doses imparted to patients and reduce costs of radiology departments. Quality assurance in paediatric radiology is still more important, since it is known that children are more sensitive to radiation than adults [13]. In this case, closer attention should be paid to improve the diagnostic information, reducing the child dose as much as possible [14] as well as choosing the most convenient type of projection
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
