Patient Radiation Doses from Adult CT examinations at the Souss Massa regional hospital.

Abstract

Introduction: CT is an essential part of medical diagnosis, and demand for this type of examination is growing all the time. Hence the need to optimise CT protocols in order to minimize the dose delivered to patients while maintaining good image quality. Objective: This study aims to assess patient radiation doses, and to establish diagnostic reference levels for Adult CT examinations at the Souss Massa regional hospital, Morocco. Method: This is a cross-sectional study, with data collected between January and June 2023 from 8 CT examinations at the Souss Massa regional hospital. Patient data was specified for each type of CT scan, including age, sex, weight, and height, as well as scanner acquisition parameters including number of series, use of contrast media, rotation time plus slice thickness, the displayed Computed Tomography Dose Index (CTDIvol), and the Dose Length Product (DLP). DRLs is calculated for each type of CT examinations by estimating the 75% percentile of the CTDIvol and the DLP. The effective dose is calculated according to the following formula: E(mSv) = EDLP × DLP (mGy.cm). The data are statistically analyzed by SPSS V 21.0 software. Results: DRLs in terms of CTDIvol, and DLP for brain without contrast media are 64,45 mGy, and 1405,77 mGy.cm respectively. For chest CT without contrast media, they are 11,13 mGy, and 417,73 mGy.cm respectively. The data from the Abdominal CT show that the CTDIvol (9,74 mGy) and DLP (529,31 mGy.cm) values with contrast media are higher than those without contrast media, which are (9,35 mGy) and (515,21 mGy.cm) respectively. DRls in terms of CTDIvol and DLP for Abdomen and Pelvis CT with contrast media are 8,14 mGy and 444,51 mGy.cm respectively. For Chest Abdomen and Pelvis with contrast media they are 8,51 mGy, and 571,30 mGy.cm respectively. The effective dose was 2,37, 6,50, 6,24, 6,76, 5,07, 7,13 mSv for Brain without contrast media, Chest without contrast media, Abdomen without contrast media, Abdomen with contrast media, Abdomen and Pelvis with contrast media, and Chest Abdomen and Pelvis respectively. Conclusion: Adapting CT protocols according to the morphology of patients and the conditions under which each examination is carried out can help to maintain the doses received by patients at an optimum level.