Radiation dose in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography: Does the operator experience really matter?

Abstract

s / Physica Medica 30 (2014) e45ee74 e57 the 20 mSv/y as a dose limit for radiation workers. It has been previously indicated that the risk of low birth weight (LBW) is enhanced due to maternal medical exposures during pregnancy Objectives: The main aim of this study was to find out whether there is a relationship between long term exposure to background radiation levels above the normal amount and the risk of low birth weight. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in high background radiation areas (HBRAs) of Ramsar and neighboring areas with normal levels of background radiation (NBRAs). An interview was conducted using a questionnaire administered to 320 women from HBRAs and 280 women from NBRAs by an expert radiation biologist. Screening and stratified random sampling were used for selection of the subjects (vaginal or caesarian). Results: The mean birth weight of the newborns to mothers from HBRAs was 2820.3 ± 654.2 g. and that of the newborns to themothers fromNBRAs was 2925.2 ± 543.2 g. The difference between the mean weight of the newborns of the mothers from HBRAs and NBRAs was statistically significant (P1⁄40.034). Conclusions: In this study, it was revealed that the birth weight may be associated with the level of background radiation in the mothers’ living area before and during pregnancy. However, the results of the present study question the reports given by previous studies revealing that pregnant mothers exposure to ionizing radiation enhanced the occurrence of low birth weight.