Patient dosimetry in interventional cardiology at the University Hospital of Osijek

Abstract

The interventional cardiology was recently implemented at the University Hospital of Osijek. Patients' absorbed doses during coronary angiography (CA) and the percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) procedures were measured and compared with published data and international standards. All patients undergoing CA or PTCA procedures during a 1-month period were included in the study. Patients' doses are expressed in terms of dose area product (DAP) per procedure. The patients' DAPs ranged from 2.6 to 210 Gy cm2 (average of 59 Gy cm2) during CAs, and from 61 to 220 Gy cm2 (average of 120 Gy cm2) during PTCAs. Patients' doses during CAs and PTCAs at the University Hospital of Osijek are in good agreement with the published ones. In complex cases, the radiochromic dosimetry films were used to show possible dose distributions across patient's skin. The film dosimetry showed a limitation of using only DAP values for the estimation of skin injuries risk.