Open AccessTO USE OR NOT USE PATIENT SHIELDING ON PREGNANT WOMEN UNDERGOING CT PULMONARY ANGIOGRAPHY: A PHANTOM STUDY
Author(s) -
Dino Begano,
Marcus Söderberg,
Anetta Bolejko
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
radiation protection dosimetry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.392
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1742-3406
pISSN - 0144-8420
DOI - 10.1093/rpd/ncaa059
Subject(s) - medicine , nuclear medicine , effective dose (radiation) , ionizing radiation , absorbed dose , thermoluminescent dosimeter , imaging phantom , electromagnetic shielding , fetus , angiography , automatic exposure control , radiology , pregnancy , radiation dose , dosimeter , dosimetry , irradiation , materials science , physics , biology , nuclear physics , composite material , genetics
Pregnancy increases the risk of pulmonary embolism. Computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) is used for diagnosis. CT generates ionising radiation, and thus, abdominal shielding may be used. This phantom study investigated the effects of patient shielding and scan length reduction on the fetal and maternal ionising radiation dose from CTPA. The absorbed dose to the fetus was measured using thermoluminescent dosemeters. Estimated effective doses to the pregnant patient were based on the dose-length products. Shielding increased both the effective dose to the patient by 47% and the mean absorbed dose to the fetus (0.10 vs. 0.12 mGy; p < 0.001) compared with unshielded standard CTPA, as it affected the automatic exposure control. Shielded short CTPA marginally lowered only the mean fetal absorbed dose (0.03 vs. 0.02 mGy; p = 0.018). Shortening the scan reduced the fetal absorbed dose most effectively by 70% (0.10 vs. 0.03 mGy; p = 0.006), compared with the standard unshielded scan. Shielding modestly reduces fetal radiation dose but may compromise automatic exposure control, possibly increasing the maternal and fetal radiation dose. Shortening the scan is beneficial, assuming anatomical coverage is secured.