Knowledge and practice of radiation safety in the Catherization laboratory among Interventional Cardiologists - An online survey

Ilayaraja Uthirapathy; Prabhakar Dorairaj; Sailatha Ravi; Shanmugasundaram Somasundaram; ACERT group – Associates for Cardiology Education and Research in Tamilnadu

doi:10.1016/j.ihj.2022.08.001

Knowledge and practice of radiation safety in the Catherization laboratory among Interventional Cardiologists - An online survey

Indian Heart J. 2022 Sep-Oct;74(5):420-423. doi: 10.1016/j.ihj.2022.08.001. Epub 2022 Aug 12.

Authors

Ilayaraja Uthirapathy¹, Prabhakar Dorairaj², Sailatha Ravi³, Shanmugasundaram Somasundaram⁴; ACERT group – Associates for Cardiology Education and Research in Tamilnadu

Affiliations

¹ Billroth Hospitals, Chennai, 600030, India.
² Ashwin Clinic, Chennai, 600040, India. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Medlish Communications, Chennai, 600078, India.
⁴ Billroth Hospitals, Chennai, 600030, India. Electronic address: [email protected].

Abstract

An Online Survey among Interventional Cardiologists (IC) assessed the knowledge (five questions) and practice of radiation safety (eleven questions). Out of 185 respondents, knowledge of annual radiation dose (2% knew), LAO cranial view giving maximum radiation (48%) and benefit of assessment of radiation exposure with dose area product (31%) was limited. Radiation safety was practiced "whenever I remember" in 37-59%. Radiation safety practices were optimal frame rate selection (32%), distancing from x-ray unit (17%), collimation use (30%), positioning the image detector close to chest (91%) and personal dosimeters use (40%). A major gap exists between knowledge and practice of radiation safety.

Keywords: Interventional cardiologist; Ionizing radiation; Radiation safety.

MeSH terms

Cardiologists*
Humans
Occupational Exposure* / prevention & control
Radiation Exposure* / prevention & control
Radiation Protection*
Radiography, Interventional
Surveys and Questionnaires