Adult medical x-ray dose assessments for computed tomography procedures in Ghana - A review

Abstract

Adult Computed Tomography (CT) examinations and dose assessments for head, chest, abdomen, lumbar spine and pelvis at six CT Facilities in Ghana were undertaken (with approval from management of the participating hospitals). The dosimetric parameters estimated were volume computerized tomography dose index (CTDIvol), dose length product (DLP), and effective dose (E) for the stochastic radiation risk of a non-uniform exposure in terms of whole body exposure. For the 39429 examinations, routine head and chest accounted for 50.6 % and 17.0 % frequency, while abdomen, lumbar spine and pelvis accounted for 11.3 %, 10.9 %, and 10.6 % respectiv-ely. Among the Facilities, CTDIvol, DLP and E values varied respectively by a factor of 2.7 for chest and abdo-men, 3.5 for chest and 3.4 for chest. The mean CTDIvol for all the examinations and mean DLP values for head, abdomen and lumbar spine were below the European Commission diagnostic reference levels, while mean DLP of chest and pelvis exceeded the reference levels by 2 and 6 % respectively. With increase in frequency of CT examinations in Ghana, National Reference Levels should be established for patient dose management system.