Introduction: It is important to understand the process of optimising work procedures and examinations. The subject’s exposure must be optimised so that the dose received during a specific diagnostic procedure is as low as reasonably achievable. In general radiology, the exposure of subjects to ionising radiation (based on a calculation of diagnostic reference levels/typical values of dosimetric quantities) can be determined by measuring the entrance skin dose (ESD) or dose-area product (DAP). Purpose: The purpose of the study is to retroactively analyse data to extrapolate the DAP values (product of the dosage and surface area) and the exposure index in the five most common general radiography tests at the emergency department of the Celje General Hospital. This allows the typical dosages to be determined for each individual test. Methods: The analytical data were acquired, using the DICOM hashtag from the ISSA and BIRPIS programs, from performed radiographic tests over the period of a year (2021) at the Celje General Hospital. The subjects of our study were patients who underwent X-ray imaging at the emergency department (ED) on two Siemens Ysio X-ray machines (Erlangen, Germany) in 2021. The acquired DAP and EI values were compared with those from the literature. Results and discussion: Nine typical dosage values
were proposed for the dosages: the value of the X-ray of the chest in the (AP) supine projection in the 2nd quartile is 7,28 µGym2, in the standing (PA) projection 8,89 µGym2, in
the lateral projection 21,85 µGym2, the abdomen in the supine (AP) projection has a DRL value of 105,83 µGym2, in the standing projection 77,87 µGym2, the pelvis 75,27 µGym2
and the hip 32,81 µGym2. The acquired values for the lumbar spine are 35,78 µGym2 in the AP projection and 145,71 µGym2
for the lateral projection. Certain typical dosage values
(2nd quartile) acquired in our research were found to be quite comparable to those from the literature. A correlation between DAP and EI was performed, and it was determined that the correlation is very weak for the supine projection of the lungs AP (r= -0.050), the supine stomach (r= 0.087) and the lateral lumbar spine (r= 0.126). A weak correlation was detected for the PA standing projection of the lungs (r=-0.283) and the lumbar spine AP (r= 0.473). A medium correlation was detected for the lateral projection of the lungs (r= 0.583), pelvis (r= 0.600), hip (r= 0.583) and the standing projection of the stomach (r= 0.621). Conclusion:
The study provided a better insight into typical doses for nine radiology procedures at the emergency department of the Celje General Hospital, thus giving us a starting point for
further similar studies and improvement in protocol optimisation.
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