A Narrative Review on the Radiation Risk of Medical Imaging for Traumatic Pregnant Patient and the Fetal Risks

Abstract

Introduction: The incidence rate of trauma in pregnancy is about 5 to 7 percent. More than 50% of the trauma during pregnancy is caused by motor vehicle accidents, and about 80% of fetal deaths occur during these automobile accidents. A traumatic pregnant woman should be visited and evaluated typically because placental abruption can have sudden consequences for the fetus with or without signs. Management strategies of maternal trauma should be reliant on accurate assessment of the mother. In order to accurately assess the patient's trauma, it is essential to provide a medical image of the patient. Radiography and CT scan are the first, fastest and most accessible imaging techniques in most health centers. Imaging techniques based on ionizing radiation present hazards and harmful effects to living organisms. The risk of ionizing radiation during pregnancy is highly dependent on the absorption dose and the age of the fetus. Absorbed doses for different radiographic examinations are different. The aim of this study was to evaluate the received radiation dose by the pregnant traumatic patient, and secondly assess the received dose by the fetus. Methods: In this narrative review, we concentrated on literature in three fields relating to firstly traumatic pregnant patients, secondly ionizing radiation dose from different medical imaging and finally, fetal dose and risk. Results: Depending on the type of radiography, the dosage of the embryo is also different. For example, examinations in which the embryo is placed on the pathway of the primary beam increases the received dose. Considering the harmful effects of ionizing radiation in imaging traumatic patients with a large number of images, the examinations that include the abdominal and pelvic region should be justified in detail. And, as far as possible, use non-ionizing imaging techniques instead of ionizing methods. One of the most reliable methods for reducing fetal doses is the development and promotion of non-ionizing imaging methods in traumatic pregnant women, such as ultrasound and MRI. Conclusions: All efforts should be made on the pregnant women in such a way that the embryo dose is as low as possible. It is strongly recommended that physician and medical team staff have a good knowledge and attitudes towards the radiation protection principles and in practice use standard of radiation protection safety principles.