[Comparative assessment of the doses received by patients during radiodiagnosis of the urinary system]

The authors present some literature data, estimated data and results of phantom measurements in order to give comparative assessment of radiation exposure of patients during radio-contrast and radionuclide investigation of the urinary system. The importance and distribution of doses absorbed by organs and tissues (HT) and effective equivalent doses (HE) in two most commonly used radiodiagnostic methods were studied. In radiocontrast urography (RCUG) the maximum values of tissue doses were noted for the female gonads and the organs adjacent to the kidneys (the liver, pancreas, etc.). However, in radionuclide investigation (RNI) of the urinary system HT reached its maximum directly in the organs under study (the kidneys and urinary bladder). Considerable difference in the patients' HE was also revealed. In view of the above data, RNI is recommended for clinical use even at the first stage of diagnosis of diseases of the urinary system. Diagnostic information obtained with RNI makes it possible to give up RCUG in some cases.