Medical staff and patients’ knowledge about radiation exposure related to routine CT examinations

Abstract

Purpose: To assess knowledge about the degree of radiation dose related to routine CT examinations among local medical staff and patients. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in a major public hospital by administering a questionnaire survey to both, the medical staff and the patients with regard to their knowledge about the radiation dosage associated with routine CT examinations. Two types of surveys were designed for the two groups of participants. The first group of participants included the medical staff, which consisted of Physicians, Radiologists, and Medical Imaging Technologists (MITs). A number of well-structured questions were developed to detect their knowledge about radiation dosage associated with CT scans. The second group included patients who were referred for CT examinations of different body regions. They were administered a questionnaire survey with questions designed to discover whether they had been provided the relevant information about CT examinations and CT-related radiation exposure. Results: One hundred questionnaires were sent out and 86 (86%) were returned. Forty-one medical staff (20 Physicians, 3 Radiologists, and 18 MITs) and 45 patients participated in the study. More than 60% of the Physicians and Radiologists provided incorrect answers about the radiation dose associated with routine CT scans when compared to a postero-anterior chest X-Ray. Similarly, more than 50% of the MITs did not correctly recognize the radiation dose from routine CT scans. Ninety-one percent of the patients did not receive any information from their Physicians regarding the benefits or risks associated with CT examinations, while 60% of patients did not know the potential radiation risk arising from CT examinations.Conclusion: The knowledge of both, the medical staff and the patients about the radiation exposure related to routine CT examinations was found to be limited. Clinicians were encouraged to familiarize themselves with the radiation risks from CT procedures and asked to follow the guidelines on dose reduction as recommended by professional bodies.