Assessment of Pediatrics Radiation Dose from Routine X-Ray Examination at Jimma University Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Given the fact that children are more sensitive toionizing radiation than adults,with an increased risk of developingradiation-induced cancer,special care should be taken when theyundergo X-ray examinations. The main aim of the currentstudy was to determine Entrance Surface Dose (ESD) topediatric patients arising from routine x-ray examination in theRadiology Department of Jimma University Specialized Hospital(JUSH).METHODS: Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted onpediatric patients less than 15 years of age who visited to seek x-ray examinations in JUSH. In this study, chest (AP), skull (AP),Abdomen (AP) and Pelvic (AP) x-ray examinations wereanalyzed. Radiographic exposure factors were recorded in eachexamination. ESD was calculated using exposure parameters.The calculated ESD values were weighed against theDiagnostic Reference Level (DRL) recommended doses andsimilar published studies. Comparison was made amongdifferent age groups through mean comparison.RESULT: The obtained ESD values were mostly higher than thevalues in internationally published studies and DRL for all agegroups. For chest AP, the mean ESD values were 1.82mGy whichis higher than similar studies in Nigeria (0.642Mgy), Brazil(o.o62mGy) and NRPB (0.050mGy) for ages of 0-1 years.CONCLUSION: The higher pediatric patient dose obtained in thisstudy is a further indicator that doses delivered to pediatric patientsare not according to ALARA principle, and there is a need tooptimize service and patients’ radiation exposure in JUSH inparticular and in Ethiopia in general.