Assessment of average radiation dose for abdominal computed tomography examinations in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano

Abstract

The demand for abdominal Computed Tomography (CT) scans has dramatically increased over the years due to its higher sensitivity in ruling out a wide range medical conditions as compared to other imaging modalities. However, this patronage is associated with high effective dose and hence attributable to the risk of radiation-induced injuries. Establishing an acceptable radiation dose level and designing a protocol of maintaining dose level within that range is a sure optimization practice that is recommended by most national and international radiation monitoring bodies. The study aims to assess the average radiation dose received by patients undergoing abdominal CT examinations in Radiology unit of AKTH Kano, Nigeria. Dose survey of 100 adult abdominal CT scans in Radiology department of AKTH from June-October 2018. CTDIvol and DLP were simply obtained from the CT machine as displayed on the console and recorded into an adapted IAEA survey form. Effective dose was estimated by multiplying DLP by the conversion factor, k-value for abdomen (0.015mSv/mGy.cm). A total of 100 patient’s radiation dose summary comprising 57 (57%) of females and 43 (43%) males with a mean age of 46 years. Determined 75th percentile CTDIvol, DLP and effective doses for abdominal CT were found to be 12 mGy, 2225.25 mGy.cm and 33.38 mSv respectively. The CTDIvol value was lower than most local and international established studies. The DLP and effective doses of the present study were significantly higher than other studies and calls for review of existing protocol to optimize practice.

Keywords: Abdominal CT, DRL, Effective dose