Radiation metrics for vascular and interventional radiology procedures in a tertiary care institution: A retrospective cohort study over 5-years

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the radiation metrics from frequently carried out vascular and interventional radiology (VIR) procedures at a tertiary care institution and compare them to international diagnostic reference levels (DRLs). METHODS: A retrospective study of the radiation metrics of VIR-procedures carried out from January 2015 to December 2019. The collected data included age, gender, height and weight, reference point air kerma (mGy), dose area product (DAP; Gy.cm2), and fluoroscopy time (min.) The body mass index (BMI) and peak skin dose were calculated. The study cohort included 8942 adult patients (54.4% male, 45.6% female) with a mean age of 56.96 years and mean BMI of 26.86. RESULTS: Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) creation recorded the highest mean fluoroscopy time of 69.41 min., followed by central venous recanalization 39.67min. TIPS creation had the highest mean DAP (1161.16 Gy.cm2), followed by trans arterial chemoembolisation (TACE) (500.63Gy.cm2). TIPS creation was associated with the highest peak skin dose (2766.81mGy), followed by TACE (1588.29mGy). Compared to other studies, TIPS creation and TACE are associated with significantly higher DAP. CONCLUSION: Majority of VIR-procedures demonstrate no significant institutional variations in dosimetry compared to other studies. Using these studied values as reference levels may help identifying procedures that need quality control to minimize unnecessary exposures.