Radiation exposure to the paediatric patient from cardiac catheterization and angiocardiography.

Thermoluminescent dosimetry was used to study the dose received by 50 consecutive paediatric patients. The average thyroid exposure was 7.7 R and the average gonad exposure 0.35 R. The relative contribution of both fluoroscopy and serial film radiography was calculated and over 70% of the thyroid dose comes from the use of the roll film changer. The significance of high thyroid dose is discussed and it is concluded that serial film changers no longer have a primary role in the study of congenital heart disease.