Dual guidance (CT and fluoroscopy) vertebroplasty: radiation dose to radiologists. How much and where?

Objective: The goal of this study was to evaluate the radiation received by the practitioner when performing percutaneous vertebroplasty guided by CT and fluoroscopy for specific anatomical sites: orbits, hands, ankles, and thorax (under lead-lined apron).

Materials And Methods: Twenty-four vertebroplasties were performed on 18 patients.

Results: The anatomical site that was most exposed to radiation was the right hand (0.37 mSv on average). This study demonstrates a significant correlation between the irradiation dose and fluoroscopy duration, reflecting both the quantity of primary-beam radiation and backscattered radiation. The right hand (P = 0.03), left hand (P = 0.02), and the left orbit (P < 0.0001) are the anatomical zones that are the most affected by the combination of these two types of radiation, with cumulative irradiation doses of 0.45, 0.2, and 0.14 mSv, respectively. There was a significant correlation between the patient weight and radiation of the left hand (P = 0.03), the left orbit (P = 0.03), and the thorax (P = 0.02), confirming the major influence of backscattered radiation.

Conclusions: The most irradiated anatomical sites limiting the number of interventions are the left orbit and the right hand.