An investigation of current application status of radiological diagnosis and treatment equipment in medical institutions in Shijiazhuang, China, 2019 / 中国辐射卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the application of radiological diagnosis and treatment equipment and distribution of medical radiation levels in medical institutions at various levels in Shijiazhuang, China in 2019, and to lay a sound foundation for further radiation protection and management. Methods A universally designed questionnaire was used to investigate and compile data on the level of the sampled hospitals, the number of radiation workers, equipment information, the number of outpatients and emergency patients, the number of inpatients, and the frequency of radiological diagnosis and treatment; the application frequency of each radiological diagnosis and treatment item was calculated based on the demographic data of Shijiazhuang. Results In Shijiazhuang, there were 390 medical institutions (excluding dental clinics) certified for radiological diagnosis and treatment, with a total of 4262 radiation workers and 1215 radiological diagnosis and treatment devices; 1.11 radiological diagnosis and treatment devices were available per 10 000 people, and 3.89 radiation workers were available per 10 000 people. The number of annual outpatients and emergency patients was 30 208 471, the number of inpatients was 1 981 295, and the total number of people or times receiving radiological diagnosis and treatment was 5 987 230. The application frequency of medical radiation was 546.70 persons/times per 1000 people, with the highest frequency for X-ray diagnosis (534.63 persons/times per 1000 people), followed by diagnosis and treatment with nuclear medicine (6.16 persons/times per 1000 people), and the lowest frequency for radiotherapy (1.17 persons/times per 1000 people). In terms of regional distribution, the highest frequency of medical radiation fell in Yuhua District (1602.97 persons/times per 1000 people), and the lowest frequency fell in Shenze County (203.21 persons/times per 1000 people). Conclusion The development of medical radiation is imbalanced in Shijiazhuang, with high-quality medical resources concentrated mainly in the main urban area, thus resulting in long-term overworking of hospital staff and equipment in some areas. The government and health administration departments should strengthen macro-control and the rational allocation of medical resources; medical institutions at various levels should rationally use radiological diagnosis and treatment equipment, strengthen judgments on the justness of radiation, and strengthen the training of radiation workers on protection knowledge and radiation protection optimization.