An update on radiation absorbed dose to patients from diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures in Tehran: A study on four academic centers

PURPOSE: Use of radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures is one of the main sources of radiation exposure. We performed this study with respect to the rapid growth in nuclear medicine in Iran and lack of updated statistics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The data were obtained for all active Nuclear Medicine Centers affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences during 2009 and 2010. RESULTS: The most frequently performed procedures were bone (30.16%), cardiac (28.96%), renal (17.97%), and thyroid (7.93%) scans. There was a significant decrease in the number of thyroid scintigraphies with (131)I and (99m)Tc-sulfur colloid liver/spleen scans and tremendous increase in the frequencies of cardiac and bone scintigraphies compared to one decade ago. CONCLUSION: Compared to previous studies, there were striking changes in trends of diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures in Tehran. This field is still evolving in the country, and this trend will further change with the introduction of positron emission tomography scanners in future.