PATIENT DOSE SURVEYS AND THE USE OF LOCAL ANDNATIONAL DIAGNOSTIC REFERENCE LEVELS

摘要

Patient doses have been assessed routinely as part of quality assurance programmes in a group of National HealthrnService and private hospitals in a southern English health region. Surveys of patient dose have been conducted inrnplain film radiography, fluoroscopy, computed tomography, mammography and dental radiography. In keepingrnwith national guidance, dose parameters used were entrance skin dose for radiography, dose area product forrnfluoroscopy, effective dose and dose length product for computed tomography (CT), mean glandular dose forrnmammography and air kerma and dose width product for dental intra-oral and orthopantomography (OPG)rnrespectively. Comparison of results against recommended standards showed that in plain film radiography andrnfluoroscopy, doses were well below national reference levels and corresponding local reference levels werernadopted at about 75% of the national figures. Elsewhere in CT, mammography and dental radiography, dosesrnwere generally in line with national trends. Overall, as an integral part of the QA programme, the dose surveysrnhave contributed greatly to the users understanding of patient dose and in several instances has led to realrnoptimisation.