Local Diagnostic Reference Levels for Common Pediatric X-Ray Examinations in Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran

Given the fact that children are more sensitive to radiation, compared to adults, special attention needs to be paid to radiation protection in pediatric radiology. Diagnostic reference level (DRL) has been defined to be employed as a practical tool for examining the overall performance of a radiological center in terms of patient dose among a series of similar equipments in an area or an institution as a Local DRL (LDRL). To establish DRL for diagnostic X-ray examinations of children in KhorasanRazavi province, data were collected from 627 pediatric patients. The average of entrance surface doses (ESDs), arising from chest and abdomen examinations, were examined for three different age groups. Local DRL (LDRL) were calculated to be 77, 126, and 138 µGy for chest examinations of <1-month-old, 1-12-month-old, and 1-5-year-old groups, respectively. The corresponding values obtained from abdomen radiographies were 152, 120, and 280 µGy, respectively. Our findings revealed that local DRLs in this study are higher than the corresponding values, recommended by the Commission of European Communities (CEC) and National Radiological Protection Board (NRBP). Higher ESDs acquired for chest examination were related to the use of low kVp, relatively high mAs in all centers, and use of grid for most of the patients.