ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the current status of interventional radiology resources, radiation protection equipment, and the rate of wearing of personal dosimeters in Qingdao, China, and to provide a data basis for strengthening radiation protection and health management for interventional radiation workers. Methods A questionnaire survey was performed on all medical institutions with interventional radiation services in Qingdao. The data from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021 were pooled and analyzed. Results A total of 31 medical institutions in Qingdao were investigated, including 23 (74.20%) tertiary hospitals and 8 (25.80%) secondary hospitals. There were 88 pieces of interventional radiation equipment in total in Qingdao, 89.77% of which were in tertiary hospitals. A total of 921 interventional professionals participated, with 865 (93.92%) from tertiary hospitals and 56 (6.08%) from secondary hospitals. The mean annual number of visits to interventional services was 5.72 per 1000 people. Among personal protective equipment, the equipment rates of lead-rubber aprons, lead-rubber caps, and lead-rubber collars were highest, all being 100%. The rate of equipment of interventional protective gloves was lowest, which was only 51.61%. The mean number of each accessory protective equipment for each interventional machine was less than 1. The rate of wearing of dual-dosimeters was 84.36%. Conclusion Tertiary hospitals were dominant among the medical institutions in this survey of interventional radiology services in Qingdao. The most frequently equipped personal protective goods were lead-rubber aprons, caps, and collars. The equipment rates of interventional protective gloves and protective accessories and the rate of wearing of dual-dosimeters were relatively low.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the application status of radiotherapy and nuclear medicine resources in Qingdao, China, and to provide a data foundation for the development of radiotherapy and nuclear medicine in this city. Methods A questionnaire survey was performed on all medical institutions with radiotherapy and nuclear medicine services across Qingdao. The cut off date for questionnaire data pooling was March 31, 2021. Results A total of 18 hospitals have radiotherapy services in Qingdao, including 12 (66.67%) tertiary hospitals and 6 (33.33%) secondary hospitals. There were 29 pieces of radiotherapy equipment in total, including 24 (82.76%) linear accelerators, 4(13.79%) brachytherapy units, and 1(3.45%) helical tomotherapy unit. Among all patients with radiotherapy in Qingdao, 79.68% were treated in tertiary hospitals. Nuclear medicine departments have been set up in five medical institutions in Qingdao, all in tertiary hospitals. There were five PET-CT scanners, seven SPECT scanners, and two cyclotrons in these nuclear medicine departments. Conclusion Qingdao had a higher radiotherapy equipping rate than the national average level, but with an uneven personnel distribution. Some secondary hospitals were short of medical physicists. The penetration rates of nuclear medicine equipment and personnel should be improved.