Do carers and comforters require lead aprons during general radiographic examinations?
lead apron
paediatric
radiation exposure
radiation protection
radiography
Journal
Journal of medical imaging and radiation oncology
ISSN: 1754-9485
Titre abrégé: J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol
Pays: Australia
ID NLM: 101469340
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Feb 2022
Feb 2022
Historique:
received:
11
04
2021
accepted:
15
07
2021
pubmed:
1
8
2021
medline:
4
2
2022
entrez:
31
7
2021
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Carers and comforters frequently remain with children during paediatric general radiographic examinations. As well as improving the likelihood of overall success of the procedure, this can be important for minimising stress and anxiety of the child. Wearing lead aprons can contribute to additional stress and anxiety about the procedure for both carer and child, specifically due to radiation risk. It also introduces some practical challenges for radiographers. This study quantified a carers exposure to scattered radiation for general radiographic examinations when remaining with a child to assist in positioning or to comfort them. Scattered radiation was measured at four common locations where a carer may stand, with a range of tube potentials (40 kV The effective dose received by a carer standing 20 cm from the centre of the patient varies from 11 min of Australian natural BERT for a finger radiograph on a patient <3 kg and up to 62 h for a swimmers view radiograph performed on a patient >70 kg. This dosimetric data allowed an evidence-based assessment of radiation protection requirements for the carer using the ALARA principle. At our institution, it was decided that a lead apron is not required if the carer is unlikely to receive more than 2 µSv. A new policy, presented here, was developed to implement this decision.
Identifiants
pubmed: 34331404
doi: 10.1111/1754-9485.13304
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
25-33Informations de copyright
© 2021 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists.
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