Fayad Hadi, Ahmed Sultan, Khatib Alaa El, Ghujeh Amer, Aly Antar, Kharita Mohammad Hassan, Al-Naemi Huda
Occupational Health and Safety Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; and
Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), Doha, Qatar.
J Nucl Med Technol. 2023 Mar;51(1):63-67. doi: 10.2967/jnmt.122.264415. Epub 2022 Aug 30.
Nuclear medicine (NM) started in Qatar in the mid-1980s with a 1-head γ-camera in Hamad General Hospital. However, Qatar is expanding, and now Hamad Medical Corp. has 2 NM departments and 1 PET/CT Center for Diagnosis and Research, with several hybrid SPECT/CT and PET/CT cameras. Furthermore, 2 new NM departments will be established in Qatar in the coming 3 y. Therefore, there is a need to optimize radiation protection in NM imaging and establish diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) for the first time in Qatar. This need is not only for the NM part of the examination but also for the CT part, especially in hybrid SPECT/CT and PET/CT. Data for adult patients were collected from the 3 SPECT/CT machines in the 2 NM facilities and from the 2 PET/CT machines in the PET/CT center. The 75th percentile values (also known as the third quartile) were considered preliminary DRLs and were consistent with the most commonly administered activities. The results for various general NM protocols were described, especially Tc-based radiopharmaceuticals and PET/CT protocols including mainly oncologic applications. The first DRLs for NM imaging in Qatar adults were established. The values agreed with other published DRLs, as was the case, for example, for PET oncology using F-FDG, with DRLs of 258, 230, 370, 400, and 461-710 MBq for Qatar, Kuwait, Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States, respectively. Similarly, for cardiac stress or rest myocardial perfusion imaging using Tc-methoxyisobutylisonitrile, the DRLs were 926, 976, 1,110, 800, and 945-1,402 MBq for Qatar, Kuwait, Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States, respectively. The optimization of administered activity that this study will enable for NM procedures in Qatar will be of great value, especially for new departments that adhere to these DRLs.
核医学（NM）于20世纪80年代中期在卡塔尔起步，当时哈马德总医院仅有一台单探头γ相机。然而，卡塔尔在不断发展，如今哈马德医疗公司设有2个核医学科室以及1个用于诊断和研究的PET/CT中心，配备了多台SPECT/CT和PET/CT混合型相机。此外，未来3年内卡塔尔还将新建2个核医学科室。因此，有必要优化核医学成像中的辐射防护，并在卡塔尔首次确立诊断参考水平（DRLs）。这种需求不仅针对检查中的核医学部分，也针对CT部分，尤其是在SPECT/CT和PET/CT混合型设备中。从2个核医学科室的3台SPECT/CT机器以及PET/CT中心的2台PET/CT机器收集了成年患者的数据。第75百分位数（也称为第三四分位数）被视为初步的DRLs，且与最常用的给药活度一致。描述了各种一般核医学检查方案的结果，特别是基于锝的放射性药物以及主要包括肿瘤学应用的PET/CT检查方案。确立了卡塔尔成年患者核医学成像的首个DRLs。这些数值与其他已发表的DRLs相符，例如，对于使用F-FDG的PET肿瘤学检查，卡塔尔（258 MBq）、科威特（230 MBq）、韩国（370 MBq）、英国（400 MBq）和美国（461 - 710 MBq）的DRLs分别如此。同样，对于使用锝-甲氧基异丁基异腈进行的心脏负荷或静息心肌灌注成像检查，卡塔尔（926 MBq）、科威特（976 MBq）、韩国（1110 MBq）、英国（800 MBq）和美国（945 - 1402 MBq）的DRLs分别如此。本研究实现的核医学检查给药活度优化对卡塔尔的核医学程序具有重要价值，特别是对于遵循这些DRLs的新科室而言。
