Abstract
Purpose The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of radiation-induced cataracts and its correlation with radiation exposure dose and radiation protection equipment use among ...radiation workers of interventional cardiology.
Methods This is a cross-sectional and retrospective case–control study. We included 180 subjects. The prevalence of radiation-induced cataracts was assessed using Scheimpflug analysis on the Pentacam-Oculus device. Individual cumulative radiation exposure dose and radiation protection equipment use were identified from questionnaires and personal dosimeters.
Results The prevalence of radiation-induced cataracts was 16.7%. The median cumulative radiation dose was 0.8 (0.1–35.6) Gy. A positive correlation was found between cumulative radiation dose and lens density (R Spearman = 0.64). We found 83.9% of subjects used ceiling-suspended shields in 71 to 100% of their working period. However, most subjects (40.6%) did not wear protective eyewear. There was a statistically significant increasing risk of radiation-induced cataracts and unresponsive use of radiation protection equipment. Subjects using ceiling-suspended shield in only 31 to 50% of their working period increased their cataract risk by 10.8 times (95% confidence interval CI: 1.05–111.49, p = 0.044). Meanwhile, subjects using protective eyewear in only 51 to 70% of their working period increased their cataract risk by 8.64 times (p = 0.001). Subjects who did not wear protective eyewear had an odd ratio of 164.3 (95% CI: 19.81–1363) compared to those who did.
Conclusion Radiation-induced cataracts among radiation workers of interventional cardiology depended on the radiation exposure dose and the use of radiation protection equipment.
The development of dental radiology in Taiwan has been over a century. This study explored mainly the profile of dental radiation workers and their occupational radiation exposure in Taiwan from 2013 ...to 2020.
This study used the secondary data analysis to survey mainly the changes of manpower of the dental radiation workers and their occupational radiation exposure in Taiwan from 2013 to 2020.
The number of monitored dental radiation workers increased from 678 in 2013 to 770 in 2020. However, the proportion of monitored dental radiation workers to the total monitored medical radiation workers decreased from 4.29% in 2013 to 3.67% in 2020. Although the number of monitored dental radiation workers increased, the number of the measurably exposed dental radiation workers decreased from 2013 to 2020. The annual collective exposure dose fluctuated from 5.21 man-Sv to 15.47 man-Sv, but it showed a decreasing trend. Furthermore, the mean annual effective exposure dose of total monitored dental radiation workers (0.01–0.02 mSv) and that of the measurably exposed dental radiation workers (0.15–1.11 mSv) were relatively low among various medical radiation workers. In overall, the proportion of medical radiation technologists to dentists varied from 0.41 to 0.45.
Although the number of monitored dental radiation workers increase, the number of the measurably exposed dental radiation workers, the proportion of the measurably exposed dental radiation workers to the total monitored dental radiation workers, and the annual collective exposure dose for monitored dental radiation workers decrease from 2013 to 2020.
Abstract
Background
Medical workers are the largest group of workers occupationally exposed to low doses of ionizing radiation (IR) worldwide.
Aims
This review presents all the cohorts of medical ...workers exposed in the world and summarizes cancer risks associated with radiation exposure in this population.
Methods
Epidemiological studies on health professionals exposed to IR published from 1975 to 2019 were reviewed. Strength of evidence was assessed according to the modified Royal College of General Practitioners three-star system.
Results
Among the 16 epidemiological studies focusing on cancers from 11 cohorts among medical staff exposed to radiation, higher risks of cancer were observed for pre-1950 exposure and for medical workers who performed fluoroscopically guided interventional procedures or radionuclides procedures compared to those who did not. However, strength of evidence supporting the associations remains moderate as several methodological limits including the lack of dosimetry data, lifestyle factors and recent updates may obscure the link between medical occupational exposure and cancer occurrence.
Conclusions
Excess risk of cancer is suspected for high and former exposures. The more highly exposed professions, i.e. interventional physicians and nuclear medicine workers, should be monitored carefully. Collaborative projects aiming to increase the quantity and quality of information of the studied populations would be a key point
Access to ionizing radiation has become widely available for diagnosis and treatment. The increased use of ionizing radiation has been associated with radiation exposure hazards for patients and ...radiation workers. Raising the level of radiation protection awareness is important to maintain the safety of healthcare settings.
Online questionnaires were distributed to 755 healthcare workers and students at King Abdulaziz Medical City and King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire consisted of 14 multiple-choice questions divided into two sections (questions related to radiation protection and common radiologic examination doses).
In total, 443 participants completed the questionnaire, including 142 (32%) medical students, 107 (24%) radiology technologists, 105 (24%) radiography students, and 89 (20%) physicians. Of the participants, 245 (55%) were men. A total of 74 (84%) physicians and 51 (47%) radiology technologists had more than 5 years of experience. Eleven (12%) physicians and 44 (41%) radiology technologists had 1-4 years of experience, whereas the rest had less than 1 year of experience. Only 16% of participants attended training courses on a regular basis. However, 15% of the participants thought that they had excellent knowledge of radiation protection, whereas 18% admitted that they did not have sufficient knowledge. Sixty-two percent of the questions related to radiation protection awareness were answered correctly. Forty-five percent of the participants correctly answered questions related to doses from common radiologic examinations. Only 23% and 16% of participants were aware of the noncontrast chest CT and lumbar x-ray doses, respectively. Moreover, 35% and 24% of participants did not know that pelvic MRI and abdominal ultrasound do not contribute any radiation dose, respectively.
The results showed a knowledge gap regarding radiation protection and dose levels; therefore, periodic refresher courses are recommended for healthcare workers in order to increase the level of awareness.
Long-term low-dose ionizing radiation (LLIR) widely exists in human life and has been confirmed to have potential pathogenic effects on cancer and cardiovascular diseases. However, it is technically ...and ethically unfeasible to explore LLIR-induced phenotypic changes in the human cohort, leading to slow progress in revealing the pathogenesis of LLIR. In this work, we recruited 32 radiation workers and 18 healthy non-radiation workers from the same city with the same eating habits for radiation damage evaluation and metabolomics profiling. It was found that clear metabolic phenotypic differences existed between LLIR and non-LLIR exposed participants. Moreover, LLIR exposed workers can be further divided into two types of metabolic phenotypes, corresponding to high and low damage types respectively. 3-hydroxypropanoate and glycolaldehyde were identified as sensitive indicators to radiation damage, which specific response to the chromosomal aberration of workers and may be potential monitoring markers for LLIR protection. Taurine metabolism-related pathways were identified as the main differential metabolic pathway under LLIR inducing, which had been confirmed to have a response to acute or chronic radiation exposure. We expect our study can be helpful to LLIR damage monitoring and symptomatic intervention in the future.
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•There are distinct metabolic phenotypic differences between radiation workers and health subjects.•Radiation workers with low or high radiation damage shown differential metabolic phenotype.•3-Hydroxypropanoate and glycolaldehyde were identified with specific response to chromosomal aberration.•Taurine metabolism related pathways were the main differential metabolic pathway induced under LLIR exposure.
•A framework for assessing nuclear security culture was introduced.•A survey on the level of nuclear security culture at various radiological facilities was conducted.•Factors considered in the ...analysis: age, qualification, job description and sector of radiological practice.•The perception of nuclear security culture was found generally increasing with age.•Staff of higher education were found more capable of forming their own opinions in security matters.
Experience proves that nuclear security culture is crucial to effectively securing radioactive and nuclear materials from external and internal adversaries. There are some approaches to assess the effectiveness of nuclear security culture in a certain organization, such as conducting surveys, interviews and onsite observations.
This paper introduces a framework for effective assessment of nuclear security culture and evaluates the level of security awareness among workers at various radiological facilities. The proposed framework comprises four elements that are: self-assessment, nuclear security culture indicators, measurement and analysis, and communication of results. A survey, to assess the degree of perception of security culture at various facilities using radioactive materials, was developed. The survey was based on an online questionnaire of 32 questions, grouped in six categories which are: Beliefs, Principles, Values, Characteristics, Attitudes and Behaviors. Information regarding awareness of nuclear security culture was gathered and analyzed, in addition to information related to respondents that included: age, qualification, job description and sector of radiological practice, which are: medical, industrial, research and regulatory sectors.
The data from the collected responses has revealed information about the degree at which the respondents believe that security threats are real concern for their facilities and the level of readiness to contribute to security matters at their organizations. It also shows trends on the degree of understanding personal responsibilities to protect the facility from various threats. It also demonstrates the extent into which the respondents think that the security community values the contribution that scientists, engineers and other radiation users can make to nuclear security effectiveness and the degree of belief that scientists and engineers are actively engaging in security matters.
The results of the survey have revealed that the perception of nuclear security culture generally increases with age. Results have also shown that employees with managerial responsibilities are slightly more appreciating the security measures implemented at their organizations. The results also demonstrated that the staff with higher level of education are more likely to be of higher critical sense and more capable of forming their own opinions in security issues and sharing them with others.
There has been an increase in positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) imaging procedures, and medical workers involved in PET/CT are at increased risk of occupational exposure. ...Data on extremity dose exposure are limited globally. The current study aimed to evaluate the occupational radiation dose for extremities for medical workers (nurses, radiographers/radiologic technologists, and nuclear medicine physicians) working in PET/CT scanners at 5 large hospitals in Turkey. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and Thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) ring dosimeters were used to measure equivalent dose values. Hospitals 1, 2, and 5 used OSL, and 3 and 4 used TLD. A total of 502 readings were obtained from 55 workers. In millisievert (mSv), the average annual effective dose for all workers was 14.5 ± 17.7 (0.2-157.2). A radiography technologist received a maximum dose of 157.21. Nurses received the highest average annual effective dose (15.2 ± 19.46) (0.32-65.58), followed by radiography technologists (14.7 ± 18.03) (0.4-157.2), and nuclear medicine physicians demonstrated the least dose (8.6 ± 10.5) (1.2-24.4). The results show that the extremity dose is well below the annual dose limit of 500 mSv. However, there is a wide variation in dose among the workers, underlining a need for careful assessment of working conditions to ensure safe practices for all workers.
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