ABSTRACT
A dosimetry study for chest, skull and lumbar spine examinations in adults has been
carried out at two hospitals. The aim of the study was the assessment of adult
patient’s dose for chest PA, chest LAT, skull AP and lumbar spine AP
examinations. The Entrance Surface Dose (ESD) and the Effective Dose (ED) for
each examination were obtained using DoseCal software. For each examination,
different results were obtained at the two hospitals. At hospital A (IFF
Hospital), the total number of patients studied was 140. The mean ESD values
obtained for chest PA, chest LAT, skull AP and lumbar spine AP were 0.20 mGy,
0.47 mGy, 1.25 mGy, and 1.61 mGy, respectively. At hospital B (HGB Hospital),
the total number of patients studied was 369 for similar examinations and
projections. The ESD values were 0.10 mGy, 0.28 mGy, 0.66 mGy and 2.47 mGy,
respectively. The mean ED values at hospital A and B were 0.02 mSv and 0.01 mSv
for chest PA, 0.04 mSv and 0.03 mSv for chest LAT, 0.1 mSv and 0.06 mSv for
skull AP, and 0.15 mSv and 0.26 mSv for lumbar spine AP, respectively. The
results were compared with the European Community Reference Levels. Although
the doses were low, there was still a need for personnel training and national
guidance on good practice for optimization of patients’ doses.