Medical doctors’ awareness of radiation exposure in diagnostic radiology investigations in a South African academic institution

• Published in: SA journal of radiology Vol. 23; no. 1; pp. 1 - 7
• Main Authors: Dauda, Akingboye M., Ozoh, John O., Towobola, Olakunle A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: South Africa AOSIS 2019; African Online Scientific Information Systems (Pty) Ltd t/a AOSIS; AOSIS (Pty) Ltd; Radiological Society of South Africa
• Subjects: Abdomen; Awareness; Background radiation; Bias; Cancer; CAT scans; Chief executive officers; Cognitive biases; Computed tomography; Confidentiality; Curriculum; Data collection; Diagnostic radiology; Dosage; Education and training; Exposure; Health aspects; Health Care Sciences & Services; Health risk assessment; Hospitals; Investigations; Knowledge; Mammography; Medical doctors; Medical imaging; Medical students; Medicine, General & Internal; Meetings; Original Research; Patient safety; Patients; Pelvis; Physicians; Pregnancy; Questionnaires; Radiation (Physics); Radiation exposure; Radiation protection; Radiology; Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging; Risk; Statistical analysis; Studies; Tomography; X-rays; South Africa; medical doctors; patient safety; exposure; Awareness; education and training; radiation protection; risk; diagnostic radiology
• ISSN: 1027-202X; 2078-6778; 2078-6778
• DOI: 10.4102/sajr.v23i1.1707

Background: Diagnostic investigations using radiation have become a critical feature of medical practice in recent times. However, the possibility of doctors’ underestimation of risks of over-exposure of patients to diagnostic radiation still warrants further evaluation.Objectives: To investigate doctors’ awareness of diagnostic radiation exposure at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital, South Africa.Methods: This was a cross-sectional, analytical investigation of the awareness of doctors about radiation exposure in diagnostic radiology investigations. A cluster sampling technique was employed to recruit 217 participants. Consent and approval of the participants were sought and obtained before questionnaire administration during departmental meetings between October 2017 and March 2018.Results: Of the participants, 80% had no formal training on radiation exposure and 33.8% of them correctly estimated natural background radiation. Correct estimates of the effective dose from a single-view abdominal X-ray (AXR) were expressed by 7.5%, quantity of radiation of a single-phase computed tomography (CT) abdomen by 30.3% and dosage from a two-view unilateral mammogram by 29.1% of the participants. More than 75% of participants agreed that children are more sensitive to radiation, but only 10.5% suggested medical termination of pregnancy for a woman who had CT abdomen and pelvis with contrast. Dosage and risk of inducing fatal cancer from common but more complex imaging procedures were poorly understood. Only the doctors of the radiology department showed a statistically significant (p Conclusion: Because of the high rate of poor awareness of radiation risks observed in this study, it is important to initiate, early in the medical curriculum for medical students, the need for a rotation in the Department of Radiology, similar to such rotations in other medical specialties.