A comparison of dose area product from different angiography procedures

Introduction The increased use of Interventional Radiology (IR) techniques the last decade and the extend fluoroscopy time during IR procedures deliver high radiation dose to patients and raised serious concerns about exposure to ionizing radiation. Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate the radiation exposure to patients during different IR procedures. The measurement of Dose Area Product (DAP) values and fluoroscopy time, allows a relative estimation of patients’ effective dose in interventional operations. Materials and methods A retrospective analysis of 333 procedures performed during last year at KAT General Hospital of Athens, the biggest trauma hospital of Greece in Athens has been conducted. All the procedures were performed on an image intensifier angiography system (Siemens Axiom Artis). Data concerning dose area product (DAP) and fluoroscopy time have been collected and divided in categories according to the type of procedure – technique. Results DAP, presented as median and range values, for 210 coronary angiographies (CA), 75 coronary angioplasty procedures (PCI), 19 cerebral Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) and 29 lower limbs DSA was 3.10 mGy∗m 2 (0.26–25.39 mGy∗m 2 ), 6.58 mGy∗m 2 (1.33–18.28 mGy∗m 2 ), 5.43 mGy∗m 2 (0.65–14.80 mGy∗m 2 ) and 30.03 mGy∗m 2 (0.02–137.87 mGy∗m 2 ) respectively. The corresponding values for fluoroscopy duration were 5.99 min (1.4–32 min), 12.98 min (4.3–32.2 min), 17.82 min (6–103 min) and 10.1 min (1–63.7 min). Conclusion Obtained results indicate that PCI procedures deliver statistically higher doses compared to CA procedures. Furthermore, radiation exposure was significantly greater for lower limbs DSA compared to cerebral DSA technique. Disclosure All authors confirm that none relationship may bias this presentation.