Survey on the use of lead protection in patients

Uvod: Namen uporabe stične zaščite za paciente je zmanjšanje doze na kritične organe. Ta dolgotrajna praksa je privedla do tega, da pacienti in strokovnjaki pričakujejo, da se z njo nadaljuje, vendar čedalje več raziskav vzbuja pomisleke glede učinkovitosti. To je povzročilo nedoslednosti v uporabi ter povzročilo trenja med bolniki, ki zahtevajo zaščito, ter med strokovnjaki, ki ocenjujejo, da je to nepotrebno. Namen: Namen diplomskega dela je bil ugotoviti, kako slovenski radiološki inženirji gledajo na uporabo zaščite, kdaj se jim uporaba zdi primerna ter katero vrsto zaščite bi uporabili pri določenih slikanjih. Zanimalo nas je tudi, pri kom jo uporabljajo, katere dele telesa najbolj pogosto ščitijo, ter kaj menijo o priporočilih iz tujine, ki predlagajo, naj se njena uporaba opusti. Metode dela: V prvem delu diplomskega dela smo uporabili deskriptivno oz. opisno metodo in je obsegal pregled literature. V drugem delu diplomskega dela smo uporabili kvantitativno metodo zbiranja podatkov s pomočjo anketnega vprašalnika. Rezultati: Na anketo je odgovorilo 117 članov ZDRI, do konca pa je anketo rešilo 107 radioloških inženirjev. Ugotovili smo, da anketiranci pri preiskavah ščitijo paciente, v skladu z dobro radiološko prakso, saj so v večini uporabljali ustrezna zaščitna sredstva. Več kot polovici se uporaba zaščit ne zdi smiselna, saj jih je 54,7 % odgovorilo, da bi se strinjali z novejšimi priporočili o opustitvi njene uporabe. 35,8 % jih je odgovorilo, da se jim ta priporočila ne zdijo smiselna. Nazadnje smo ugotovili, da 30 % anketirancev ne bi upoštevalo novih smernic o prenehanju uporabe zaščite, tudi če bi bile sprejete. Razprava in zaključek: Radiološki inženirji večinoma uporabljajo svinčeno zaščito ustrezno, v skladu z dobro radiološko prakso in pri vseh skupinah ljudi, ne glede na vrsto diagnostike, na kateri so zaposleni. Ugotovili smo, da dobro poznajo radiosenzitivne organe, vendar skoraj polovica anketirancev še vedno misli, da so gonade najbolj radiosenzitiven organ, kar pa se je spremenilo v najnovejših smernicah. Več kot polovici anketirancev, se ne zdi smiselna uporaba svinčene zaščite. Veliko jih je prav tako odgovorilo, da bi v primeru sprejetja smernic o prenehanju uporabe svinčenih zaščit, še vedno ščitilo otroke, mlajše ženske in nosečniceIntroduction: The main purpose of contact protection for patients is to reduce the dose to critical organs. This longstanding practice has led patients and professionals to expect the practice to continue, however many studies raise conserns about its effectivness. This has led to inconsistencies in use and friction between patients who require protection and professionals who deem it unnecessary. Purpose: The main purpose of the diploma work was to find out how Slovenian radiological engineers view the use of lead protection, when they consider it appropriate to use and what type of protection would they use in specific imaging. We were also interested in knowing who they use it on, which parts of the body are shielded the most, and what they think of recommendations, that suggest the abandonment of patient contact shielding. Methods: In the first part, we used descriptive method, which included a literature review. In the second part of the diploma work, we used a quantitative method of data collection with a survey. Results: 117 ZDRI members responded to the survey, and 107 radiological engineers completed the survey. Respondents shield patients according to good radiological practice, as most of them use the appropriate shielding equipment. More than a half agree with more recent recommendations that suggest the abandonment of the patient shielding. Finally, we discovered that 30 % of respondents would not follow the new guidelines, even if they were adopted. Discussion and conclusion: Radiological engineers generally use lead shielding appropriately, in accordance with good radiological practice adn for all groups of people. We found that they have a good knowledge of radiosensitive organs, but almost half of the respondents still think that the gonads are the most radiosensitive organ, despite the change in the newest guidelines. More than half of the respondents think that we should abandon the usage of lead shielding. Many also said that if guidelines were adopted, they would still protect children, younger women and pregnant women