Asada Yasuki, Ichikawa Takuma
School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Radiological Technology, Fujita Health University, 1-98 Dengakugakubo Kutsukake-cho, Toyoake, Aichi, 470-1192, Japan.
Department of Radiology, Fujita Health University Hospital, Toyoake, Japan.
Radiol Phys Technol. 2019 Dec;12(4):382-387. doi: 10.1007/s12194-019-00533-7. Epub 2019 Aug 31.
The use of diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) is currently recommended, and dose evaluation is considered to be important for establishing a Japanese radiological protection system in radiological medicine. Children, in particular, are sensitive to radiation, and their exposure levels must be taken into account. The DRL for the entrance surface dose (ESD) used in pediatric chest X-ray examinations in Japan is 0.2 mGy. However, the bodies of infants and young children show major changes with rapidly developing organs. Thus, the possibility that organ development may also be affected by radiation exposure should be taken into account. Therefore, radiological technologists must be conservative in setting radiographic conditions for pediatric examinations. The objective of this study was to evaluate the doses used in pediatric chest X-ray examinations at our hospital and compare them with the current DRLs, considering the assumption that setting conditions individually for different ages and subject thicknesses and performing more detailed dose evaluations will help reduce radiation exposure. The study was carried out to estimate the ESDs in 163 pediatric patients who underwent frontal or lateral chest X-ray examinations at our hospital. All doses were lower than 0.2 mGy, the dose recommended in the Japanese DRLs 2015. The doses showed a strong correlation with age, but a weaker correlation with subject thickness. These results suggest that instead of considering a common DRL for all children, the DRL should be evaluated on the basis of age.
目前推荐使用诊断参考水平（DRLs），并且剂量评估对于建立日本放射医学中的放射防护体系被认为是重要的。尤其是儿童对辐射敏感，必须考虑他们的暴露水平。日本儿科胸部X线检查中使用的入射表面剂量（ESD）的DRL为0.2 mGy。然而，婴幼儿的身体随着器官的快速发育会发生重大变化。因此，也应考虑器官发育可能受到辐射暴露影响的可能性。所以，放射技师在为儿科检查设置射线照相条件时必须保守。本研究的目的是评估我院儿科胸部X线检查中使用的剂量，并将其与当前的DRLs进行比较，考虑到为不同年龄和受检者厚度分别设置条件并进行更详细的剂量评估将有助于减少辐射暴露这一假设。该研究旨在估算我院163例接受胸部正位或侧位X线检查的儿科患者的ESD。所有剂量均低于日本2015年DRLs中推荐的剂量0.2 mGy。剂量与年龄呈强相关，但与受检者厚度的相关性较弱。这些结果表明，不应为所有儿童考虑通用的DRL，而应根据年龄评估DRL。
