Evaluation of radiation dose and cancer risk for paediatric digital radiography in a Moroccan hospital

Abstract

Pediatric radiography is the first line of most diagnostic examinations and an effective tool that provides important information about the patient's health status.

This study aims to investigate the Entrance Surface Dose (ESD) and organ doses for pediatric patients undergoing imaging procedures of the abdomen, chest, pelvis, and nasopharynx using Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dosimeters OSLDs and an anthropomorphic phantom.

An ATOM pediatric 5-year-old phantom was imaged using a Digital Radiography (DR) based on similar conditions of routine radiography (exposure parameters kVp, mAs, SID: Source Image receptor Distance). The OSLDs were inserted at the appropriate sites to measure localized doses in the sensitive organs.

The results showed that the entrance surface doses for the pediatric patients were 0.17 ± 0.03 mGy, 0.10 ± 0.00 mGy, 0.46 ± 0.00 mGy, and 0.42 ± 0.02 mGy, respectively, for the abdomen (AP), chest (AP), pelvis (AP), and nasopharynx (LAT). The range of organ doses were 0.05–0.45 mGy, 0.01–0.44 mGy, 0.13–1.05 mGy, and 0.084–0.99 mGy for the abdomen, chest, pelvis, and nasopharynx examination, respectively. Effective doses (ED) were 0.088 ± 0.021 mSv, 0.011 ± 0.004 mSv, 0.058 ± 0.007 mSv, and 0.044 ± 0.024 mSv for the abdomen, chest, pelvis, and nasopharynx examination, respectively.

The likelihood of cancer, as determined by the ICRP health risk model with a rate of 500 cases per 10 000 person-Sv (5% per sievert), estimated that a 0.015 case of health risk (0.3 person-Sv × 5% per sievert) may in the future be attributable to four X-ray pediatric procedures conducted in 2022.

The ESD, ED, and organ dose values are deemed acceptable compared to those reported in the literature. Although the risk of incidence and mortality from cancer during life is minimal, it should not be ignored.