Assessment of awareness and attitude towards radiation hazards and safety in the general population

Background: Dental radiologists, technicians, and other personnel understand the significance of radiation risks and, consequently, patient safety. It is equally important to know the understanding of patients visiting the hospital,which will assist in identifying gaps in patient education. Methods: Patients (n=300) visiting the outpatient department were given a pre-validated questionnaire form, which consisted of 17 questions distributed separately in order to assess awareness and attitude. The responses collected were statistically analysed. Results: Patients who are literate and have fairly good socioeconomic status are expected to be more aware and concerned about their attitude towards radiation safety and hazards, although fewer illiterate people are also expected to be equally aware and concerned. Conclusions: Despite many efforts by authorities, there seems to be a need to spread more awareness about radiation safety and hazards among the general population, irrespective of their background characteristics and educational status, and thus improve their attitude towards the same.

Ethical aspects of age estimation for forensic purposes in Saudi Arabia / Aspectos éticos de la estimación de la edad para propósitos forenses en Arabia Saudita / Aspectos éticos da estimativa de idade para propósitos forenses na Arábia Saudita

Abstract: In forensic and legal contexts, an assessment of skeletal maturation is required to predict the chronological age in certain circumstances in which the chronological age is undocumented or unable to be proven. Carrying such medical examinations will always pose an ethical concern, especially in cases of assessing sexual maturity as well as examinations involving ionizing radiation. The cultural and religious barriers are also discussed concerning the ethical standards set in Saudi Arabia. Several ethical issues concerning age estimation examinations including issues related to consent forms, privacy, and radiation hazards have been documented. While ethical issues regarding radiation hazards are more likely to be overcome by introducing other imaging modalities without radiation hazards, ethics related to consent forms and privacy are still to be improved.

Resumen: En contextos forenses y legales, se requiere la evaluación de la maduración del esqueleto para predecir la edad cronológica en ciertas circunstancias en que la edad cronológica no está documentada o no es posible de probar. Realizar tales exámenes médicos siempre significa una preocupación ética, especialmente en casos de evaluación de madurez sexual así como en exámenes que involucran radiaciones ionizantes. Se discuten también las barreras culturales y religiosas relacionadas con el contexto de estándares éticos en Arabia Saudita. Entre los varios temas éticos relacionados con la estimación de la edad, se documentan temas relacionados con los formularios de consentimiento, privacidad y riesgos de radiación. Mientras que los temas éticos relacionados con riesgos de radiación pueden ser resueltos al introducir otras modalidades de examen sin radiación, los problemas éticos relacionados con los formularios de consentimiento y privacidad todavía necesitan mejorarse.

Resumo: Em contextos forenses e legais, uma avaliação de maturação esquelética é requerida para predizer a idade cronológica em certas circunstâncias nas quais a idade cronológica não é documentada ou impossível de ser provada. Conduzir tais exames médicos sempre irá suscitar uma preocupação ética, especialmente em casos para avaliar maturidade sexual bem como exames envolvendo radiação ionizante. As barreiras culturais e religiosas também são discutidas no que diz respeito a padrões éticos estabelecidos na Arábia Saudita. Diversos aspectos éticos concernentes a exames de estimativa de idade incluindo aspectos relacionados a formulários de consentimento, privacidade e risco de radiação foram documentados. Ao passo que aspectos éticos que dizem respeito a risco de radiação serem mais provavelmente superáveis pela introdução de outras modalidades de exames de imagem sem risco de radiação, a ética relacionada a formulários de consentimento e privacidade ainda estão por serem melhorados.

Knowledge, Attitudes and Perception toward Radiation Hazards and Protection among Dental Professionals in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Introduction: Radiation hazards are harmful, and it becomes precarious when there is a professional negligence or ignorance. Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge, attitude and perception among dental students and dental practitioners toward dental radiation and to assess the difference in knowledge between dentists, dental staff and dental students. Materials and methods: The study was comprised of 550 participants. The information was collected from each participant through structured questionnaire consisting of 39 close-ended questions. Statistical analysis: Chisquare to test the association of knowledge, attitudes and perception (KAP) with gender, occupational sector and educational qualification and one way analysis of variance to compare the difference in means of KAP between the three different groups of professionals and gender. Results: Out of the 550 dental professionals who participated in the study, 293 (53%) were dental students, 83 (15%) were dental staff and 174 (32%) were dentists. Dental students showed higher KAP values towards radiation hazards protection followed by dentists and dental staff. Conclusion: From the results obtained in this study, it was noted that the KAP level with regard to radiation protection was higher among dental students compared to dentists, and the least KAP value was found with dental staff.

Attitude and awareness of general population towards radiation hazards and safety: An institutional study

Context: Radiological investigations play a pivotal role in the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of procedures. Aim: To assess the knowledge regarding adverse consequences of radiological examination and encourage awareness regarding radiation protection amongst general public. Settings and Design: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study conducted amongst patients visiting the dental outpatient department. Materials and Methods: 1,000 adult male and female patients within the age of 20–70 years who visited the outpatient department during May–July 2017 were included in the study. Statistical Analysis: Comparison of frequencies of responses to each item with age and gender was done using chi square test. For all statistical tests, P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant, keeping α error at 5% and β error at 20%. Results: 85.3% participants had visited a hospital earlier and 69.3% had undergone the procedure of an X-ray earlier. Out of those patients, only 24.7% of the participants had any knowledge about the equipment or the procedure while taking a radiograph. 5.2% of the participants were given any safety measures during the radiological procedure. 14.4% had knowledge of the risks and hazards associated with radiation. Conclusions: This short study showed that there is a need for educating the general population about the hazards and risks associated with radiation exposure.

Ultrasound imaging versus conventional histopathology in diagnosis of periapical lesions of endodontic origin: A comparative evaluation.

Context: Accurate assessment of periapical status is critical in diagnosis, treatment planning, and evaluation of healing. Novel imaging modalities like sonography offer promising results with reduced radiation risks. Aims: To evaluate the potential of ultrasound imaging technique together with the application of color Doppler to differentiate between periapical lesions of endodontic origin. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients with periapical lesions of endodontic origin who were already scheduled for undergoing endodontic surgery were examined further using sonography. Color Doppler was performed to assess blood flow. Information on the size of the lesion, its content, and vascular supply was gained and recorded by means of ultrasound images. The sonographic images were analyzed and discussed with an expert sonologist, and a tentative diagnosis between a periapical cyst and periapical granuloma was made. Endodontic surgery and histopathological examination was done for each case and the results were compared. Results: The sonograms revealed the lesions within the bone in three dimensions and their contents, that is, fluids or tissues or blood vessels. Measurements of the periapical lesions in three dimensions were also obtained. Of the twenty cases studied, ultrasound could detect periapical granulomas in all 9 cases and radicular cysts in all 11 cases. Conclusion: Ultrasound imaging had the potential to be used for the evaluation of periapical lesions of endodontic origin. However, further studies are required to establish a definite correlation.