An overview of acquisition parameters, dose measurements and organ doses in abdominal CT scans in Brazil

The aim of this multi-centre study was to evaluate the irradiation parameters and the radiation dose of abdomen CT exams without contrast, performed in adults In Brazil, in order to provide an overview of the CT installed base in the country and contribute for the establishment of optimisation programs. Equipment of seven different models, with 16 and 64 channels, installed in 17 Brazilian states, plus the Federal District, were analysed. The results show that the mean CTDI_vol​​ranged from 6.60 mGy to 34.64 mGy. The results also showed that different irradiation parameters are used in equipment of the same model, resulting, in some cases, in three times higher CTDI_volvalues. These characteristics are not restricted to a given region of the country but distributed throughout the national territory. Repetitions of acquisitions and topograms with scan length larger than the region of interest were found in 13.5% of abdomen examinations, resulting in considerably higher absorbed doses than expected. This survey of the abdomen tomography exams, performed in about 74% of the Brazilian states, showed that in many clinics the procedures are not optimised. This study can be used for the planning of dose optimisation programs and will contribute to the establishment of local diagnostic reference levels (DRL) for CT.