Patient dose reference levels in surgery: a multicenter study

To assess diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) in surgery for the most frequent procedures as required by the European Directive 2013/59/Euratom.

A survey was conducted in six centers. Eight orthopedic, urology and gastrointestinal surgical procedures were analyzed. Kerma area product (KAP) and fluoroscopy time (FT) were recorded for 50 patients (except for elbow: 30 patients) per procedure and per center from September 2016 to September 2017. DRLs were calculated as the 3rd quartiles of the distributions. For shoulder surgery, DRLs were defined according to the complexity of the procedure. For hand/wrist and foot/ankle surgery, DRLs were defined according to the technology (conventional C-arm vs. mini-C-arm).

Results of 1870 procedures were retrieved. DRLs were calculated for the two dosimetric indicators and the eight procedures. DRLs were 2130 mGy.cm² and 1.4 min for proximal femoral intramedullary nail, 1185 mGy.cm² and 0.9 min for laparoscopic cholecystectomy and 2195 mGy.cm² and 1.0 min for double-J (pigtail) ureteral catheter insertion. For shoulder surgery, KAP and FT were significantly higher (p < 0.05) for intramedullary procedures compared to extramedullary procedures. For hand/wrist and foot/ankle surgery, the KAPs were significantly higher (p < 0.05) with conventional C-arm compared to mini-C-arm, but FTs were not significantly different (p: not significant).

This study reports DRLs in surgery based on a multicentric survey.

• Delivered dose in surgery depends on procedure, practice and patient. • Diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) are proposed for eight surgical procedures. • DRLs are useful to benchmark practices and optimize protocols.