BACKGROUND: Medical irradiation is the most important artificial source of exposure to ionising radiations in Europe and implies biorisks. AIM: To assess the level of radiological awareness in a tertiary-care referral centre of adult-pediatric cardiological excellence. METHODS: One hundred physicians (31 women, age=41+/-8 years) were polled with a simple, one-page, multiple choice questionnaire. Twenty-five physicians worked in a pediatric, 75 in an adult cardiology centre. RESULTS: Eighty-nine of the polled physicians wrongly estimated the contribution of nuclear and radiological tests in overall radiation exposure of average US inhabitant as <0.01% (36% of physicians) or <1% (31%) or <10% (22%) (correct answer given by 11% of physicians: >10%). Ninety-five physicians wrongly estimated the risk of fatal cancer associated with a stress myocardial perfusion scintigraphy procedure as "zero" (48%) or "<1 in 10 million"(19%) or "<1 in 1 million" (28%) (correct answer given by 5%: >1 in 10,000 tests). Seventy-one wrongly estimated the dose exposure of a myocardial stress perfusion scintigraphy as equal to one (13%), or one-half (9%), or three times (49%) that of a chest X-ray (correct answer given by 29%: 500 times). The average level of radiological awareness was not correlated to the number of radiological-nuclear exams performed/prescribed per year and to the type of (adult or pediatric) working environment. CONCLUSION: Physicians working in an adult and pediatric cardiological environment of excellence are largely unaware of environmental impact, biorisks and dose exposure of the ionising exams they prescribe and/or perform daily.
BACKGROUND: Medical irradiation is the most important artificial source of exposure to ionising radiations in Europe and implies biorisks. AIM: To assess the level of radiological awareness in a tertiary-care referral centre of adult-pediatric cardiological excellence. METHODS: One hundred physicians (31 women, age=41+/-8 years) were polled with a simple, one-page, multiple choice questionnaire. Twenty-five physicians worked in a pediatric, 75 in an adult cardiology centre. RESULTS: Eighty-nine of the polled physicians wrongly estimated the contribution of nuclear and radiological tests in overall radiation exposure of average US inhabitant as <0.01% (36% of physicians) or <1% (31%) or <10% (22%) (correct answer given by 11% of physicians: >10%). Ninety-five physicians wrongly estimated the risk of fatal cancer associated with a stress myocardial perfusion scintigraphy procedure as "zero" (48%) or "<1 in 10 million"(19%) or "<1 in 1 million" (28%) (correct answer given by 5%: >1 in 10,000 tests). Seventy-one wrongly estimated the dose exposure of a myocardial stress perfusion scintigraphy as equal to one (13%), or one-half (9%), or three times (49%) that of a chest X-ray (correct answer given by 29%: 500 times). The average level of radiological awareness was not correlated to the number of radiological-nuclear exams performed/prescribed per year and to the type of (adult or pediatric) working environment. CONCLUSION: Physicians working in an adult and pediatric cardiological environment of excellence are largely unaware of environmental impact, biorisks and dose exposure of the ionising exams they prescribe and/or perform daily.
Authors: Jersey Chen; Andrew J Einstein; Reza Fazel; Harlan M Krumholz; Yongfei Wang; Joseph S Ross; Henry H Ting; Nilay D Shah; Khurram Nasir; Brahmajee K Nallamothu Journal: J Am Coll Cardiol Date: 2010-07-09 Impact factor: 24.094
Authors: Sergio Salerno; Maurizio Marrale; Claudia Geraci; Giuseppe Caruso; Giuseppe Lo Re; Antonio Lo Casto; Massimo Midiri Journal: Radiol Med Date: 2015-09-19 Impact factor: 3.469