The Relationship between Serum Osteopontin Levels and Isolated Coronary Artery Ectasia

Abstract

Aims: Occupational head exposure of radiation was suggested to be associated with brain tumors in interventional cardiologists. The brain is of particular interest, because it is one of the least protected organs during interventional procedures. Our aim was to investigate the efficacy of the lead cap in radiation protection of the head and compare it with that of a ceiling mounted lead glass screen in a real life setting. Our secondary goal was to test the comfort and convenience of the lead cap when worn on a regular daily basis. Methods-Results: Radiation dose to the operator was recorded by the three dosimeters placed outside the lead cap, inside the cap and outside the apron at the level of trunk for a total of 18 months. Only the lead cap (Burkhart Roentgen International, St Petersburg, Florida, USA) but not the ceiling suspended protective glass screen was used during the first three months of measurement of radiation dose to the head. Later concomitant use of both protection devices was analyzed. The dosimeter outside the cap recorded a dose of 2.77 mSv radiation when the ceiling mounted screen was not used during the first 3 months. The doses were 2.4 to 12.5 times higher in comparison to the measurements that were recorded when the ceiling suspended screen was used. However, a remarkable dose of radiation (ranged between 1.16-0.22 mSv) was received by the operators head despite the use of ceiling mounted screen. Yet, even without the protection of the ceiling mounted screen, the dose recorded by the dosimeter inside the lead cap during the first period was <0.1 mSv (Table). As expected, the doses to the head recorded by the dosimeter inside the cap during the next 15 months period were also less than 0.1 mSv with the use of the ceiling mounted screen. Therefore, a cap with only 0.5 mm lead equivalence reduced the dose to the head to ignorable levels regardless of the use of the screen. Conclusions: A cap with only 0.5 mm lead equivalence was much more protective than the mounted screen and reduced the dose to the head to ignorable levels regardless the use of the mounted screen. Although being a subjective conclusion, the operator regularly wearing the lead cap reported that the lead cap is reasonably comfortable and offers an acceptable wearing comfort when used on daily practice.