Evaluation of Patient Exposure during Lithotripsy

Abstract

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is rapidly becoming an accepted treatment of renal calculi. Since fluoroscopy is involved to image the stones it is important to know how much radiation the patient receives during this procedure. Radiation exposure during extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL) was calculated using exposure factors in 50 randomly selected patients .In Ibn Sina Hospital The patients were divided into two groups according to age: Pediatric (less than 15 years), and adults. The mean age for adults was 42.14 years and the range was between 22 years to 75 years while the mean age for children was 6.94 ± 4.8 years and the range was between 0.75 years to 15 years. The mean ESD (mGy) for adults was 0.18±0.15 (0.04-0.79 mGy) (Table 4.3) and the ESD for the pediatric group was 0.03±0.04 mGy (0.0.5- 0.18). the dose for adults were higher than the pediatric due to the exposure factors used and the value of high scatter radiation wich related to the patient weight. The ESD in this study for pediatric and adults were low compared to previous studies. Since patient has no dose limits, an extensive effort should be given in order to reach the final diagnosis or treatments of the procedures.