Patient doses of CT examinations in Western and Eastern Azerbyjan provinces of Iran

Medical X-rays are the largest man-made source of public exposure to ionizing radiation. While the benefits of computed tomography (CT) are well known in accurate diagnosis, those benefits are not risk free. CT is a device with higher patient dose in comparison with other conventional radiation procedures. So it is important to avoid conditions where the amount of radiation used is more than that needed for the procedure. Since that there is not any report on the radiation doses received by patients in CT scan wards in hospitals under control of Eastern and Western Azerbyjan medical sciences university, in the North West of Iran; this study was a part of national project to establish and optimize local and national diagnostic guidance levels. This work intends to calculate CT Dose Index (CTDI) and Dose Length Product (DLP) in common CT procedures in two north western provinces of country. Two hospitals got involved in the present study. CTDI and DLP measurements were done according to AAPM report no. 96 for head, chest and abdomen CT procedures. The mean CTDIw for head (base), sinus, chest and abdomen were 12.22, 13.13, 13.3 and 7.6 mGy, respectively.Patient dose levels in CTDI and DLP in our study arent higher than those in developed countries.