ABSTRACT
This study analyses the efficiency of the justification of individual computed tomography (CT) procedures using the good practice guide. The conformity of the CT scans with guide's recommendations was retrospectively analysed in a paediatric emergency hospital in Romania. The involved patient doses were estimated. The results show that around one-third of the examinations were not prescribed in conformity with the guide's recommendations, but these results are affected by unclear guide provisions, discussed here. The implications of the provisions of the revised International Atomic Energy Agency's Basic Safety Standards and of the Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM were analysed. The education and training courses for medical doctors disseminating the provisions of the good practice guide should be considered as the main support for the justification of the CT scans at the individual level.
Subject(s)
Guideline Adherence/statistics & numerical data , Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced/prevention & control , Practice Patterns, Physicians'/statistics & numerical data , Radiation Exposure/statistics & numerical data , Tomography, X-Ray Computed/statistics & numerical data , Tomography, X-Ray Computed/standards , Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced/epidemiology , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Practice Patterns, Physicians'/standards , Radiation Exposure/prevention & control , Radiation Exposure/standards , Reference Values , Romania/epidemiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
The knowledge of practitioners on justification of the individual medical exposure was assessed during education and training programmes. A survey containing questions on this issue was used. The results show that the Good Practice Guide should be disseminated and studied by radiation protection training programmes and such kind of training must be extended to prescribers because they have to be involved in the justification process.
