Background/introduction
Interventional radiology (IR) and cardiology (IC) are increasingly used in children as minimally invasive procedures that can replace more complex paediatric surgery options. The new technology and post-processing in imaging for interventional practices allow a reduction of patient and staff doses maintaining or even improving the image quality.
The International Basic Safety Standards (BSS) establish requirements for the protection from harmful effects of ionizing radiation (BSS 2014). The BSS requirements for the medical exposures of patients include the establishment of diagnostic reference levels (DRLs), and...
Description of activity and work performed
The planned activities included in OPRIPALC to fulfil the objectives are:
To identify the health centres to be involved in the project and send a questionnaire for assessing the current situation in the region regarding paediatric IR/IC (e.g. equipment, staff, frequency of IR/IC procedures and patients doses) (fig 2) (Ubeda 2019, UNSCEAR 2013, ICRP 2013). See a summary of the questionnaire answers in figure 3.
Prepare a basic training material on RP for paediatric interventionists and other health professionals involved (WHO 2016).
As a starting...
Conclusion and recommendations
The OPRIPALC project expects to improve the radiation safety culture in paediatric interventional procedures obtaining a set of provisional diagnostic reference levels for six procedures, and propose optimization strategies based on the audit of patient doses from a sample of representative hospitals in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean.
An initial group of 36 paediatric hospitals from 10 different countries have declared their interest to be involved in the programme and a consensus to select 3 frequent procedures for interventional radiology and 3...
Personal/organisational information
E. Vano; Madrid/ES - nothing to disclose M. Perez; Geneva/CH - nothing to disclose P. Jimenez; Washington/US - nothing to disclose A. Nader; Montevideo/UY - nothing to disclose R. Ramirez Garcia; Vienna/AT - nothing to disclose P. Miranda; Santiago/CL - nothing to disclose C. Ubeda; Arica/CL - nothing to disclose Y. Gonzalez; La Habana/CU - nothing to disclose.
Authors: Eliseo Vano (Complutense University. Radiology Department. Madrid. Spain); Maria Del Rosario Perez (World Health Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland), Pablo Jimenez (Pan American Health Organisation, Washington DC, United...
References
BSS 2014. European Commission, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, International Atomic Energy Agency, International Labour Organization, OCDE Nuclear Energy Agency, Pan American Health Organization, United Nations Environment Programme, World Health Organization, Radiation Protection and Safety of Radiation Sources: International Basic Safety Standards, IAEA Safety Series No. GSR Part 3, IAEA, Vienna (2014).
EC 2018. European Commission. European Guidelines on Diagnostic Reference Levels for Paediatric Imaging. Radiation Protection 185 (2018). European Union, Luxembourg. http://www.eurosafeimaging.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/rp_185.pdf (Accessed 02 Jan 2020).
EUROSAFE 2018. EuroSafe Imaging Call...