Evaluation of Male Gonadal Radiation Dose in Abdominal X-ray Examinations: The Impact of Radiographic Projections and Kilovoltage Peak (kVp).

In abdominal X-ray examinations, radiosensitive organs such as the gonads within or near the imaging region are at risk of radiation exposure. Minimizing the dose to these organs is crucial to reducing unnecessary radiation. This study utilized optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters (OSLDs) to measure the radiation dose to the male gonads at varying kilovoltage peak (kVp) settings while keeping the milliampere-seconds (mAs) constant across different radiographic projections. A Siemens Multix Top X-ray system (Siemens Healthcare Inc., Erlangen, Germany) was used for imaging, with three kVp settings (81, 83, and 85) and a fixed exposure of 32 mAs. The study employed a RANDO phantom (The Phantom Laboratory, Salem, New York, USA) to simulate human anatomy. The entrance surface dose (ESD) was recorded by placing an OSLD on the phantom's surface corresponding to the gonad location. In contrast, the absorbed dose was measured by positioning the OSLD at the gonadal region inside the phantom. Six abdominal projections were evaluated: anteroposterior (AP) supine, posteroanterior (PA) prone, lateral, AP erect, lateral decubitus, and dorsal decubitus. All imaging was conducted with a source-to-image distance of 100 cm. The dorsal and lateral decubitus positions resulted in relatively higher radiation doses. Conversely, the AP supine, PA prone, lateral, and AP erect positions exhibited lower ESD and absorbed doses. Statistical analysis revealed no significant differences in ESD and absorbed doses for male gonads across the projections. Additionally, an increase in kVp correlated with a reduction in both ESD and absorbed dose. This study emphasizes the critical importance of optimizing kVp settings to minimize radiation exposure to male gonads during abdominal X-ray examinations. It also emphasizes the significant influence of radiographic projections on radiation dose, advocating for careful selection of projections to enhance patient safety. These findings contribute to advancing radiological practices, reducing unnecessary radiation exposure, and improving patient care standards.