Computed Tomography Radiation Exposure among Urinary Tract Stone Patients at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: National and multinational surveys indicate large variability of Computed Tomography urinarytractStone doses. The wide use of abdominopelvic Computed Tomography in the diagnosis,  raised the issue of radiation exposure. Hence,this study was conducted to assess Computed Tomography  radiation exposure of urinary tract Stone Patients there by, to compare the results from established reference values and other published studies

METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional was done on 100 urinary tract Stone patients who have at least one computed tomography scan as part of their follow-up or for diagnosis purposes fromFebruary 1 to May 31, 2021, at  Tikur Anbesa Specialized Hospital.Data were collected using a structured questionnaire format that evaluates the number of Computed Tomography they had, scan parameters,  dose indicators, and socio-demographic characteristics. Finally, the collected data were analyzed  using statistical software SPSS version 22

RESULTS: Out of 100 patients 3.6%of our patients have radiation exposure of more than 4mSv, which is the standard for low-dose Computed Tomography. The median radiation exposure is 1.27mSv per scan. Exposure factors like tube current, tube current products, dose length product, and scan range all have similar values with an almost null interquartile range. All the scans that overpassed the low dose threshold(4mSv) were done outsideTikur Anbesa Specialized Hospital.

CONCLUSION: Our study showed that Tikur Anbesa Specialized Hospital's low-dose CT protocol for patients with urinary tract Stone is well optimized as opposed to non- Tikur Anbesa Specialized Hospital.