Physicians’ knowledge about radiation protection of patients during prescription of CT scan procedures in Morocco

Objective

To evaluate the knowledge and practices of Moroccan physicians in terms of radioprotection of patients when prescribing computed tomography (CT) procedures.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study in which a questionnaire with 23 multiple-choice questions was sent to prescribers of CT examinations such as radiotherapists (RMs), other medical specialists (OMSs), general practitioners (GPs) and residents/interns (R/Is). The first eight questions asked about the demographics of the participants, while the remaining questions asked about knowledge of ionizing radiation examinations, doses received, relative risks, and patient radiation safety training.

Results

A total of 223 physicians participated in this survey. Radiation therapists, considered as the reference group, had a better knowledge of irradiating and non-irradiating imaging compared to the other groups (P ​= ​0.003). Thus, 67% of the reference group declared to take into account the number of scans performed by the patient during the last year, unlike the other groups (P ​= ​0.002). Furthermore, the knowledge of the different groups about the risks related to exposure to ionizing radiation was globally low (2%) (P ​= ​0.73). Regardless of their specialties and seniority, only 12% of the participants informed the patient at the time of prescription about the risks of X-rays. Finally, only 21% of the participants declared having had training in radiation protection, with no significant differences between the subgroups (P ​= ​0.832).

Conclusions

The results obtained are similar to those reported in previous studies. They show that Moroccan prescribers have a low level of knowledge of the risks associated with CT examinations. Training on patient radiation protection should be included in the initial curriculum of interns and the continuing professional development of physicians should be reinforced.