Radiation exposure from diagnostic radiography: an assessment of X-ray beam collimation practice in some Nigerian Hospitals

Abstract

This study was carried out to evaluate the X-ray beam collimation practice, among radiographers, as a measure of radiation protection for patients undergoing radiodiagnostic investigations. Inadequate X-ray beam collimation practice was observed in all the hospitals studied. Light beam misalignment/malfunction, pressure of work and years of experience were identified as major contributory factors. There is therefore need for proper equipment maintenance, employment of adequate number of radiographers and periodic audit of work pattern and output to minimize radiation exposure to the population.

Evaluation of entrance surface dose and scattered dose to the pelvis for common radiological examinations in analog and digital radiography: A phantom study

“…Moreover, an appropriate field size is a major factor in (mGy) This study IAEA (30) UK (31) JAPAN (32) IRAN (33) IRAN (34) Skull (AP) (20) reported proper field size collimation in only 46% of examinations. Some factors may be involved in the low rate of field size collimation, such as patients' emergency conditions, high staff workload, concerns about missing the diagnostic targets, and technician's neglect (19,20,36) . Some specific capabilities of digital radiography systems, such as electronic collimation of field size, have caused some challenges.…”

“…Also, radiation field size, which is an essential factor in scattered radiation, image quality, and patient dose, should be limited to the target area (18) . According to some studies, due to many factors, such as high workload or convenience, field size localization 938 is not properly adjusted (19,20) . On the other hand, electronic collimation in digital systems allows operators to use this capability rather than adjust the field size manually; therefore, the patient dose may increase by applying field sizes greater than needed (21,22) .…”

South African radiographers’ radiation protection practices, a qualitative study

“…32 Gonad shielding, however, was found to increase the dose area product when used for female pelvis X-rays. 33 Studies conducted in Yobe, Nigeria, 34 Khuzestan-Iran, Ahvaz-Iran, 35 Saudi Arabia, 36 Australia 37 and South Africa 38 show evidence of poor collimation practices. An observational study from the United Kingdom found that radiographers collimated/cropped images at the post-processing stage with collimation/cropping ranging from 1 cm to 5 cm.…”

Letter to Editor: Poor collimation in digital radiology: A growing concern

“…Inadequate collimation is responsible for the highest unnecessary integral dose to patients in diagnostic radiology 7 . It has been reported that variations in gonadal dose are presumably due to variations in collimation 8 .…”