Patient dose in interventional radiology: a European survey

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiology
• Interventional Radiology

Background:

• Patient radiation doses in fluoroscopy-guided interventional radiology (IR) procedures are crucial for establishing diagnostic reference levels.
• Variability in patient doses can arise from differences in equipment, procedures, and departmental practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To collect and evaluate patient doses for common fluoroscopy-guided IR procedures across 13 European countries.
• To provide a basis for establishing preliminary dose reference levels for interventional radiology.

Main Methods:

• Data collection from radiological departments in 13 European countries.
• Inclusion of approximately 1300 patients undergoing 20 different IR procedures.
• Analysis of patient dose metrics including dose area product (DAP), fluoroscopy time, and number of frames.

Main Results:

• Significant variations observed in IR equipment availability, procedure frequency, dose rates, and patient doses (DAP).
• No clear correlation found between total DAP and entrance dose rate, or between total DAP and fluoroscopy time.
• Preliminary reference levels were proposed for a limited number of procedures due to sample size limitations.

Conclusions:

• Substantial variability in patient doses necessitates improved optimization of interventional radiology procedures.
• Standardization of procedure definitions, grouping, and complexity assessment is required for effective dose management.
• Further multicenter studies are needed to establish robust reference levels for a wider range of IR procedures.