Patient Awareness and Knowledge Level for Radiation in Different Radiology Modalities in Hospitals

Aims: Understanding the knowledge gaps among the public regarding radiation protection of each modality has helped to assess the community awareness and perception, which reflects our urgent need for more education for the public. This project aims to evaluate the knowledge levels of patients undergoing medical imaging procedures is regarding the risk and benefits by providing sufficient information regarding their specific medical imaging technique upon examination. Study Design: A prospective study with a special questionnaire to collect data. Place and Duration of Study: Subjects: Different departments of Radiology in different hospitals, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for 3 months. Methodology: The survey was conducted in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to include four major hospitals. The sample of the study included 500 patients (125 for each hospital). Patients are aged 18 years and over were referred by physicians for a radiological examination, including different radiologic modalities. Results: It was found that 52% of patients were provided the information about radiology examination. The mean scores of questions ranged from 69% to 76%. So, there was a strong positive correlation between the radiology examination information received by patients and the radiation questions' score. Conclusion: The majority of patients who visited the radiology departments in Jeddah's hospitals did not receive sufficient information about radiation awareness when starting the radiology examination, which in turn reflects their level of general knowledge of radiation risks.

Development and evaluation of a brief educational cartoon on trainee clinicians’ awareness of risks of ionising-radiation exposure: a feasibility pre-post intervention study of a novel educational tool to promote patient safety

BackgroundOver recent decades, CT scans have become routinely available and are used in both acute medical and outpatient environments. However, there is a small increase in the risk of adverse consequences, including an increase in the risk of both malignancy and cataracts. Clinicians are often unaware of these facts, and this represents a challenge for medical educators in England, where almost 5 million CT scans are done annually. New whiteboard methodologies permit development of innovative educational tools that are efficient and scalable in communicating simple educational messages that promote patient safety.MethodsA short educational whiteboard cartoon was developed to explore the prior observation that adolescents under the care of paediatricians had a much lower risk of receiving a CT scan than those under the care of clinicians who care for adults. This explored the risks after receiving a CT scan and strategies that can be used to avoid them. The educational cartoon was piloted on new doctors who were attending induction training at a busy teaching hospital.ResultsThe main output was the educational whiteboard cartoon itself. Before the new medical trainees’ induction, 56% (25/45) had received no formal training in radiation awareness, and this decreased to 26% (6/23) after the exposure to the educational cartoon (p=0.02). At baseline, 60% (27/45) of respondents considered that young females were at highest risk from exposure to ionising radiation, and this increased to 87% (20/23) after exposure to the educational cartoon (p=0.06).ConclusionsThis proof-of-concept feasibility study demonstrates that whiteboard cartoons provide a novel and feasible approach to efficiently promote patient safety issues, where a short succinct message is often appropriate.

Assessment of Patients’ Knowledge of Radiation Exposure during Medical Imaging Procedures at Private Medical Radiography Centres in Ogun State, Nigeria

Introduction: Radiological examinations are commonly requested for patients to aid clinical diagnosis. However, many doctors do not realize how much radiation dosage their patients are exposed to during radiological aim. The main objective of this study was to assess the level of knowledge of radiation exposure and safety practices among patients undergoing medical imaging in Ado-Odo Local Government Area, in Ogun State of Nigeria. Methodology: A self-administered questionnaire was used for the study. Results: More than half of the respondents 216(69.7%) were female, more than one-quarter 153(49.4) of the respondents were aged 20-29 years, More than half 186(60.0%) of the respondent are single. More than half 204(66.4%) of the respondents have heard about radiation exposure. Majority 232(74.8%) of the respondents agree that radiation hazard do come only from medical radiations. More than half 21(68.7%) of the respondents agree that they do take note of radiation warning sign, majority 236(76.1%) of the respondents agree that they know the wrong use of dose of ionizing radiation can lead to mortality, 217(70.0%) of the respondents agree that inappropriate safety measure on ionizing radiation can result into cancer Conclusion: This study notes that majority of the literature on awareness and knowledge of the effects of ionizing radiation was carried out among health workers, whereas there is limited information from patients who undergo the procedure. This accounts for the paucity of local studies to compare our results with. In future, studies could compare the radiation awareness among patients presenting at health facilities from public and private, as well as differences in awareness levels of self-presenting and prescribed patients

Surgeon and staff radiation exposure in minimally invasive spinal surgery: prospective series using a personal dosimeter

OBJECTIVEThe level of radiation awareness by surgeons and residents in spinal surgery does not match the ubiquity of fluoroscopy in operating rooms in the United States. The present method of monitoring radiation exposure may contribute to the current deficiency in radiation awareness. Current dosimeters involve a considerable lag from the time that the surgical team is exposed to radiation to the time that they are provided with that exposure data. The objective of the current study was to assess the feasibility of monitoring radiation exposure in operating room personnel during lateral transpsoas lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) and minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MI-TLIF) procedures by using a wearable personal device with real-time feedback.METHODSOperating room staff participating in minimally invasive surgical procedures under a single surgeon during a 6-month period were prospectively enrolled in this study. All radiation dose exposures were recorded for each member of the surgical team (surgeon, assistant surgeon, scrub nurse, and circulating nurse) using a personal dosimeter (DoseAware). Radiation doses were recorded in microsieverts (μSv). Comparisons between groups were made using ANOVA with the Tukey post hoc test and Student t-test.RESULTSThirty-nine patients underwent interbody fusions: 25 underwent LLIF procedures (14 LLIF alone, 11 LLIF with percutaneous screw placement [PSP]) and 14 underwent MI-TLIF. For each operative scenario per spinal level, the surgeon experienced significantly higher (p < 0.035) average radiation exposure (LLIF: 167.9 μSv, LLIF+PSP: 424.2 μSv, MI-TLIF: 397.9 μSv) than other members of the team, followed by the assistant surgeon (LLIF: 149.7 μSv, LLIF+PSP: 242.3 μSv, MI-TLIF: 274.9 μSv). The scrub nurse (LLIF: 15.4 μSv, LLIF+PSP: 125.7 μSv, MI-TLIF: 183.0 μSv) and circulating nurse (LLIF: 1.2 μSv, LLIF+PSP: 9.2 μSv, MI-TLIF: 102.3 μSv) experienced significantly lower exposures. Radiation exposure was not correlated with the patient’s body mass index (p ≥ 0.233); however, it was positively correlated with increasing patient age (p ≤ 0.004).CONCLUSIONSReal-time monitoring of radiation exposure is currently feasible and shortens the time between exposure and the availability of information regarding that exposure. A shortened feedback loop that offers more reliable and immediate data would conceivably raise the level of concern for radiation exposure in spinal surgeries and could alter patterns of behavior, leading to decreased exposures. Further studies are ongoing to determine the effect of real-time dosimetry in spinal surgery.

Knowledge of Radiation Exposure and it Risk among Radiographers and Radio Technologists

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the awareness, concern and practice on hazards of ionizing radiation and radiation protection among radiographers and technologists of Pokhara, Nepal and to evaluate the knowledge of radiation and its protection among them. Materials and Methods: A validated questionnaire was used to collect data from radiographers and Technologists. The survey included multiple choice questions (MCQs) related to demographic characteristics (age, gender), academic qualification, and knowledge of radiation and radiation protection. Obtained data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 25 software and shown in frequency, percentages. Results: Among 103 participants, only 73.8% were NHPC registered and 46.7% had attended classes/seminar on the topic of radiation protection. Only 8.7% used dosimeters to measure the radiation dose. Among participants, 77.7% knew that annual whole-body dose for a radiation worker is 20 mSv and 87.4% knew that there should be distance of more than six feet from the X-ray tube while taking X-ray in the case of non-barrier protection. This study shows that the knowledge and the perceptions regarding radiation and its protection among the radiographers/technologist is just satisfactory and needs to be improved. Conclusion: Overall awareness and knowledge of radiation protection and radiological procedures of radiologic technologist were satisfactory. However, there were some question that they needed mandatory training and knowledge. Therefore, we recommend that further workshops, seminars, symposium, training courses and Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs are recommended on a regular basis in collaboration with ISSRT and other national and international organizations to raise the level of radiation awareness.