Concentration of Trace Elements in the Blood Serum of Operating Room Staff Exposed to Low-Dose Radiation

The results of studies on the biological effects of ionizing radiation can play an important role in reducing the risk of occupational hazards of personnel working at the radiological departments of the hospital. This study aimed to investigate the concentration of aluminum, manganese, and selenium in the blood serum of operating room staff and their association with occupational radiation exposure.

In total, 100 healthy operating room staff was selected using systematic random sampling. They were then divided into three groups of radiation workers, non-radiation worker, and test (those who were exposed to X-rays but did not wear film badges). Subsequently, two milliliters of peripheral blood were taken intravenously from volunteers and centrifuged to separate serum. The concentration of three elements was read by the graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy. The analysis of variance was used to analyze the concentration of aluminum, manganese, and selenium in all groups. Moreover, the fitting curve of the occupational exposure was described using the R software. Ethics code: ir.kums.rec.1397.467

The normality of the data was assessed and confirmed by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Moreover, the concentration values (ng/ml) of aluminum, manganese, and selenium were 8.62, 9.08, and 76.15, as well as 13.53, 12.14, and 140.97 in the non- and radiation worker groups, respectively. The difference between the two groups was significant for all three elements (P<0.001). Furthermore, the corresponding values for aluminum, manganese, and selenium were 9.54, 8.76, and 105 in the test group.

Occupational radiation can increase the concentration of manganese, aluminum, and selenium in the blood serum. These results suggest the necessity for more investigations on operating room personnel who do not wear film-badges.