Mater Private Hospital, Eccles St., Dublin 7, Ireland; University of Crete, Iraklion, Crete, Greece.
Phys Med. 2021 Feb;82:266-268. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmp.2021.01.077. Epub 2021 Mar 5.
Contact shielding has been in widespread use for the last 60-70 years aiming to protect against genetic effects, cancer, and other detriment. Since 2012, studies have begun to appear in the literature that question the continued use of such shielding, especially when radiographic technology has changed so much over the intervening period This literature has culminated in several professional bodies such as the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) and the British Institute of Radiology (BIR) issuing guidance and statements recommending against the continued routine use of patient contact shielding. Many professional societies have also endorsed these statements. National statements on the matter continue to be produced. It is notable however that the major European bodies involved in diagnostic radiology and radiation safety have not to date issued a statement on patient shielding. This commentary looks at reasons for that and argues that it is now time for a European consensus statement on patient shielding. It is the authors belief that there are advantages to building on the work done by the AAPM and BIR, using the opportunity to amplify the statements, propagate the intent of the original statements, refine the message to deal with questions that have arisen since their publication. Α working group, Gonad and Patient Shielding (GAPS) has been formed by members from a) the European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics (EFOMP), b) the Eurosafe Imaging initiative of the European Society of Radiology (ESR), c) the European Federation of Radiographers Societies (EFRS), d) EURADOS and e) the BIR to produce a joint statement on the proper application of patient shielding in diagnostic and interventional radiology.
接触屏蔽在过去的 60-70 年中被广泛使用，旨在保护免受遗传效应、癌症和其他损害。自 2012 年以来，一些研究开始出现在文献中，对继续使用这种屏蔽提出了质疑，尤其是在这段时间里放射技术发生了如此大的变化。这些文献最终促成了一些专业机构，如美国医学物理学家协会（AAPM）和英国放射学会（BIR）发布指南和声明，建议不要继续常规使用患者接触屏蔽。许多专业协会也认可了这些声明。关于这个问题的国家声明仍在继续发布。然而值得注意的是，参与诊断放射学和辐射安全的主要欧洲机构迄今尚未就患者屏蔽问题发表声明。这篇评论探讨了其中的原因，并认为现在是就患者屏蔽问题达成欧洲共识的时候了。作者认为，借鉴 AAPM 和 BIR 所做的工作、利用这一机会扩大声明、传播原始声明的意图、改进信息以解决自发表以来出现的问题是有优势的。一个由来自 a）欧洲医学物理组织联合会（EFOMP）、b）欧洲放射学会（ESR）的 Eurosafe Imaging 倡议、c）欧洲放射技师协会联合会（EFRS）、d）EURADOS 和 e）BIR 的成员组成的工作组，Gonad and Patient Shielding（GAPS），已经形成，以制定一份关于在诊断和介入放射学中正确应用患者屏蔽的联合声明。
