RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF PATIENT RADIATION DOSES IN DIGITAL CORONARY ANGIOGRAPHY AND INTERVENTIONS.

This study sought to assess patient and operator eye lens doses in diagnostic coronary angiography (DCA) and percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in a University hospital in Oman. Kerma area product (PkA), cumulative air kerma (CAK) and fluoroscopic time (FT) were retrospectively recorded from the DICOM header for 264 patients. The median (interquartile range) of FT, PKA and CAK were: 5.3 min (2.6-10.5), 60.9 Gy cm2 (41.3-91.4) and 0.86 Gy (0.61-1.29), respectively, for DCA procedures, and they were 20.2 min (13.3-30.1), 174.0 Gy cm2 (113.7-253.3) and 2.6 Gy (1.8-3.9), respectively, for PCI procedures. The results revealed wide variability in patient doses among individual patients. Monitoring and recording patient dose data can be valuable for quality assurance and patient safety purposes. Feedback to the operator may help optimize radiation doses to patients and prompt further action, as needed.

PIXE study on the effects of parathyroid hormone on elemental content in rat bones.

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) has attracted considerable interest as a bone anabolic agent. PTH plays a central role in regulating calcium phosphate metabolism and its increases in production in response to low serum calcium levels. A continuous hypersecretion of PTH, as occurs in primary hyperparathyroidism, leads to bone resorption. In this study, the effect of different doses of parathyroid hormone (PTH) on bone mineral content (BMC) in rats was investigated by particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). This study will help in investigating further the toxicity of extremely high doses of PTH on BMC. For this study, PTH at doses of 15, 45, or 135µg/kg/day were applied to 9-month-old male and female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. The concentrations of calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), strontium (Sr), and zinc (Zn) were measured for bone treatment of PTH. From the results of the research, it was revealed that the biomechanical characteristics of the bone as well as the bone mass were enhanced after the treatment. It was further found that the concentrations of other elements also increased, excluding Zn. This research proved that PTH assists in the treatment of osteoporosis as revealed by the characteristics of different elements. PIXE can be used to determine the concentrations of bone mineral content.

Environmental-Impact Assessment of Natural Radioactivity Around a Traditional Mining Area in Al-Ibedia, Sudan.

Recently, in the Sudan, traditional gold mining has been growing rapidly and has become a very attractive and popular economic activity. Mining activity is recognized as one of the sources of radioactivity contamination. Hence, the radioactivity concentration and radiological hazard due to exposure of radionuclides (226)Ra, (232)Th, and (40)K were evaluated. The measurements were performed using gamma-ray spectrometry with an NaI (Tl) detector. The results show that (226)Ra, (232)Th, and (40)K activity concentration ranged from 2.66 to 18.47, 9.20 to 51.87, and 0.17 to 419.77 Bq/kg with average values of 7.54 ± 4.91, 20.74 ± 11.29, and 111.87 ± 136.84 Bq/kg, respectively. In contrast, (222)Rn in soil, (222)Rn in air, and (226)Ra in vegetables along with radiation dose were computed and compared with the international recommended levels. Potential radiological effects to miners and the public due to (226)Ra, (232)Th, (40)K, and (222)Rn are insignificant. (226)Ra transferred to vegetables appears to be negligible compared with the allowable limit 1.0 mSv/year set by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). The average value of the annual gonadal dose equivalent (AGDE) is lower than the global average of 300 µSv/year (UNSCEAR 2000). However, some locations exhibit values >300 µSv/year. To the best of our knowledge, so far there seems to be no data regarding radioactivity monitoring in traditional mining areas in the Sudan.