Evaluation of Image Quality and Radiation Safety at the Emergency Department for Disabled and Nondisabled Patients

Abstract

It is expected that diagnosable findings with high image quality are achieved for all patients in a safe environment. It is known that the emergency department presents a greater challenge for radiological technologist to perform safe radiology procedures and achieve high image quality. This study aims to evaluate the radiographic image quality and safety measures at emergency departments at the Saudi Ministry of Health hospitals in Riyadh based on the American College of Radiology guidelines. Image quality was to be evaluated using certain clinical criteria based on three parameters. Three radiologists evaluated the image, and radiological technologists completed a survey to assess the safety measures. A total of 55 procedures were investigated in the emergency department for disabled and nondisabled patients. The results showed that 31-43% of the images had high image quality and high diagnostic findings, while 5-25% of the images had poor image quality and low diagnostic values. Poor radiation safety and protection measures were reported by radiological technologists. The study recommends workshops to improve the awareness of radiation protection and promote patients’ safety culture in the emergency department.