J. Guillermo López-Medina, Servicio de Hemodinamia, Hospital Central Militar, SEDENA; Cardiología intervencionista, Centro Médico ABC, Ciudad de México, México
Roxana C. Castillo-Díaz de León, Medicina Preventiva, Centro Médico ABC. Ciudad de México, México
José M. González-Pedraza, Servicio de Hemodinamia, Hospital Central Militar, SEDENA, Ciudad de México, México
Jorge A. Silva-Rendón, Servicio de Hemodinamia, Hospital Central Militar, SEDENA, Ciudad de México, México
Luis E. Berumen-Domínguez, Servicio de Hemodinamia, Hospital Central Militar, SEDENA; Cardiología intervencionista, Centro Médico ABC; Ciudad de México, México
Background. Exposure to ionizing radiation during cardiac catheterization tends to be greater than in other radiologic procedure. Therefore, every hospital must document the dosage of radiation used during every procedure performed. It is essential as a quality standard, without exception, in every cardiac catheterization laboratory. Objectives. To measure total fluoroscopy time and radiation doses for all procedures, for group of procedures, as well as gender. Methods. We conducted an observational and descriptive study. We included all consecutive patients who underwent a cardiac procedure from March 2020 to August 2021. Radiation dose data: fluoroscopy time, air kerma at the interventional reference point and dose area product were collected for every procedure. Results. Five hundred twenty-nine procedures were performed and were submitted for analysis. The median (range min-max) fluoroscopy time was 18.21 (0.8-116) minutes, the median (range min-max) air kerma was 2205 (1-19812) mGy and the median (range min-max) dose area product was 145.78 (0.21-1018.93) Gy·cm2. We observed that the angioplasty group and the chronic total occlusion group showed the highest radiation dosage and fluoroscopy time compared to other groups. We found significant difference in the gender-based analysis for fluoroscopy time, air kerma and dose area product (p < 0.05), although this study was not designed for this purpose. Conclusions. This analysis showed that the radiation used in cardiac procedures in our center is similar to the data reported by other hospitals around the world. This is our starting benchmark as a strategy for local improvement. You can’t improve it if you don’t measure it.
Keywords: Fluoroscopy time. Air kerma. Dose area product.