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Contribution of interventional cardiology to the collective dose in Spain
Roberto M Sánchez Casanueva1,2, Eliseo Vañó Carruana2, José Miguel Fernández Soto1
1Hospital Clínico San Carlos and Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain.
Insights
Interventional cardiology (IC) accounts for 4% of Spain's collective X-ray dose, despite being a small fraction of procedures. Individual patient doses from IC are high, emphasizing the need for radiation optimization.
Area of Science:
- Medical Physics
- Radiology
- Cardiology
Background:
- Interventional cardiology (IC) utilizes X-ray imaging extensively.
- Estimating the radiation burden from IC procedures is crucial for patient safety and healthcare policy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the contribution of interventional cardiology (IC) to the collective radiation dose in Spain.
- To assess the proportion of X-ray procedures and collective dose attributed to IC.
Main Methods:
- Data on examination frequencies were obtained from the Spanish Society of Cardiology.
- Patient dose values were sourced from the national DOCCACI radiation protection program.
Main Results:
- Interventional cardiology (IC) contributed 34 man-Sv per million inhabitants, totaling 1600 man-Sv in Spain.
- IC represented 0.66% of all X-ray procedures but accounted for 4% of the total collective X-ray dose.
Conclusions:
- While the collective dose from IC may appear moderate, it delivers the highest individual doses among medical practices.
- Radiation dose optimization in interventional cardiology remains critically important for minimizing patient exposure.
Introduction And Objectives:
To estimate the contribution of interventional cardiology (IC) to the collective dose in Spain.
Methods:
Using the information on frequencies of examinations sourced from the Spanish Society of Cardiology and the patient dose values obtained by the national DOCCACI programme.
Results:
The fraction of the collective dose per million inhabitants derived from IC was 34 man-Sv (a total of 1600 man-Sv in Spain with 46.5 million inhabitants). The contribution of the IC derived from the medical use of x-rays in Spain resulted in 0.66% of the procedures and 4% of the x-ray collective dose.
Conclusions:
Even if this collective radiation dose may seem moderate, at an individual level this medical practice delivers the greatest doses and, therefore, optimisation remains of paramount importance.
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