Study of Radiation Doses in Adult and Paediatric Patients Undergoing Computed Tomography Examination in Nigeria

Abstract

The use of computed tomography (CT) has increased over the past decades and has resulted in a concurrent increase in medical exposure to ionizing radiation. Several recent studies have examined the link between medical radiation and the risk of cancer, especially in children. Results are presented in terms of the volumetric computed tomography dose index (CTDIvol) and dose length product (DLP) for head, chest and abdomen. The 75th percentile of adult CTDIvol for head, chest and abdomen are 85 mGy, 13.34 mGy and 13.29 mGy respectively and the corresponding DLP values 1437.47 mGy·cm, 417.49 and 656.02 mGy·cm. However, the paediatric head based on age group 0 - 1 yr, 1 - 5 yrs, 6 - 10 yrs and 11 - 15 years are 28.18 mGy, 32.12 mGy, 32.13 mGy and 28.20 mGy and corresponding DLP values 399.75 mGy·cm, 514.38 mGy·cm, 578.42 mGy·cm and 487.11 mGy·cm respectively and for paediatric abdomen from 1 - 5 years to 11 - 15 years are 3.98 mGy, 4.26 mGy and 5.92 mGy and the corresponding DLP 99.36 mGy·cm, 160.84 and 235.85 mGy·cm. The finding shows considerably high CTDIvol and DLP values for adult head comparable to the international standard thus optimization is required. Reduction in radiation doses for both adult and paediatric patients involve training of staff and optimize CT protocols.