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What is the radiation exposure to patients during a gynecoradiologic procedure?
V C Karande1, D E Pratt, M S Balin
1Division of GynecoRadiology, University of Illinois at Chicago 60610, USA.
Objective:
To evaluate the risk of radiation exposure to infertility patients during a gynecoradiologic procedure.
Design:
Retrospective clinical study.
Setting:
Medical school-affiliated infertility center.
Patient(S):
Three hundred thirty-two consecutive infertility patients undergoing a gynecoradiologic procedure.
Intervention(S):
Patients underwent a gynecoradiologic procedure as part of their infertility workup and the fluoroscopic exposure time was analyzed.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
The fluoroscopic exposure (rad time) during gynecoradiologic procedures, including hysterosalpingogram (HSG), selective salpingography, tubal catheterization, and others.
Result(S):
The rad time (mean +/- SD) was 63 +/- 54 seconds for normal HSG (n = 94, range 17 to 404 seconds), 100 +/- 61 seconds for abnormal HSG (n = 53, range 28 to 272 seconds), 111 +/- 57 seconds for unilateral selective salpingography (n = 36, range 31 to 324 seconds), 142 +/- 74 seconds for bilateral selective salpingography (n = 87, range 40 to 430 seconds), 176 +/- 77 seconds for unilateral tubal catheterization (n = 27, range 70 to 342 seconds), and 239 +/- 82 seconds for bilateral tubal catheterization (n = 30, range 110 to 381 seconds). Five patients had other procedures, such as lysis of intrauterine adhesions (n = 2) and resection of an uterine septum (n = 3), for which the rad time was in a range of 180 to 300 seconds.
Conclusion(S):
The radiation exposure of patients during a gynecoradiologic procedure, using previously described standard techniques, is well within established margins of safety.