Patient and operator exposure during percutaneous vertebroplasty

The purpose of this study was to compare exposure of patient and operator to ionising radiation during percutaneous vertebroplasty performed under combined computed tomography (CT) and fluoroscopic guidance or fluoroscopic guidance alone.

With the collaboration of our physics department, we measured exposure on ten patients undergoing vertebroplasty with combined CT and fluoroscopic guidance and on ten undergoing vertebroplasty with fluoroscopic guidance alone.

Mean operator dose was approximately 0.8 microSv during vertebroplasty done with combined CT and fluoroscopic guidance and 5.8 microSv in procedures with fluoroscopic guidance alone. Mean patient dose was approximately 6 mSv for combined guidance and 8 mSv for fluoroscopic guidance, a difference that was not found to be statistically significant.

Although combined CT and fluoroscopic guidance is normally preferred for difficult areas such as the cervical and upper thoracic vertebrae, to ensure operator radiation protection, the technique should also be considered for areas normally treated under fluoroscopic guidance alone. However, a larger patient series is needed to correctly evaluate the real contribution of low-dose CT to patient exposure.