Occupational Radiation Exposures in Interventional Radiology and the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory.

Abstract

To determine whether significant differences exist in occupational radiation exposures among physicians, nurses, and technologists working in interventional radiology and cardiac catheterization laboratories, which might warrant role-specific protective measures. De-identified radiation exposure records for 1,269 Mayo Clinic employees in interventional radiology or cardiac catheterization laboratories were reviewed for calendar years 2021 through 2023. Annual exposures for each participant meeting screening criteria were calculated, with median value imputation for participants with missing data. Analysis compared radiation doses between professional roles and hospital type. Of the 758 individuals meeting screening criteria (representing 1,609 annual exposures), significant differences (P<.001) occurred between all professional groups with physician median doses of 5.60 mSv (IQR: 1.42-16.05 mSv), nurses receiving 1.63 mSv (IQR: 0.60-4.40 mSv), and technologists receiving 1.28 mSv (IQR: 0.55-3.28 mSv). Significant differences (P<.001) also occurred when comparing the same professional role across different hospital settings. These findings support a comprehensive radiation protection approach based on professional role and hospital location within interventional radiology and cardiac catheterization laboratories. All professional groups demonstrated sufficiently low exposures to potentially allow the use of reduced lead-equivalent thickness protective aprons, which may reduce the risk of musculoskeletal complications.