OA100] Skin and organ doses in pediatric interventional cardiology procedures

Abstract

Purpose Recent reports on radiation accidents and injuries in interventional cardiology (IC) raised the issue of radiation protection, especially for pediatric patients. This work hence focused on the measurement of skin dose in diagnostic and therapeutic pediatric IC procedures and the estimation of organ doses. Methods Exposures parameters including Dose Area Product (DAP), Cumulative Dose (CD), etc. were retrospectively reviewed for 263 patients undergoing diagnostic or therapeutic IC procedures for a congenital heart disease. These were all taken from a large pediatric hospital responsible for approximately 50% of all pediatric IC activity in the country. Patient age and weight were also collected. Additionally, Peak Skin Dose (PSD) was measured using thermoluminescent dosemeters for a sample of 50 children, 7 diagnostic (DP) and 43 therapeutic procedures (TP). Finally, breasts, lungs, esophagus and thyroid doses were estimated based on DAP-to-organ doses conversion factors available in literature. Results The study included 263 patients divided into 4 groups according to weight: 5 kg with 5 DP and 31 TP, 5– Conclusions Exposures parameters and measured PSD values were very low excluding the risk of skin injuries. The lungs and esophagus involved highest estimated organ doses for both neonate and infant. For patients requiring repeated procedures, accumulated doses will increase the cancer risk in specific organ.