ESTABLISHMENT OF LOCAL DIAGNOSTIC REFERENCE LEVELS FOR COMMON PROCEDURES OF COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IN YAZD PROVINCE

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to propose first established diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) in computed tomography (CT) for adults, based on volume-averaged CTDI and dose length product (DLP) metrics in Yazd Province.

Materials and methods: Six multislice CT scanners located at diverse areas of Yazd Province and seven common procedures were selected for the present study. For each procedure, at least twenty patients 18 years and older were sampled at each institution. For each patient, dose report data and scan parameters as well as patient's information were abstracted from picture archiving and communication system.

Results: Proposed DRLs in terms of computed tomography dose index (mGy) and DLP (mGy.cm) were as follows: brain (42, 527), sinus (25, 220), neck (14, 264), abdomen-pelvis (11, 295), routine chest (8, 247), CT pulmonary angiogram (32, 261) and chest HRCT (11, 455), respectively, slightly lower compared to other investigations.

Conclusion: The proposed DRLs in this study should be considered as the local DRLs for the seven most common adult CT examinations in Yazd province so as to optimize the patient dose while maintaining acceptable image quality for the clinical task.