Should Radiation Be Pregnant Women's Pregnancy?

Over the past few decades one of the main arguments patients have when going to see a dentist is the amount of radiation they are exposed to while taking dental radiographs. Every time this happens the dentist has to sit the patient down and talk to them about the cause versus effect. While many patients think that they are being over exposed to radiation while having a standard set of x-rays every year, they never take into account the amount of radiation that they are receiving through other devices of by just walking outside. Not many dental providers think of the amount of radiation they are receiving just by working with it every single day. The lack of knowledge that dental providers have about radiation exposure can affect their overall

There are two very divergent viewpoints across the medical provider landscape as to whether radiological testing is used too much or not enough. The basic equation comes down to a balance between being sure that certain conditions and disorders are not in play and not wasting time/money and/or exposing the patient to potential harm due to the fairly dangerous nature of being exposed to too much radiation.

According to Schiska, these include time, distance, and shielding. One must accurately take the x-ray in a timely manner. The patient should not be exposed to the radiation for more than what is recommended. Next, one must use protective shielding to protect themselves and the patient from the radiation. According to the book, Radiation Protection in Medical Radiography, "Protective shielding is a structure or device made of certain materials such as concrete, lead, or lead-impregnated material that will adequately attenuate ionizing radiation." It is vital that the lens of the eye, reproductive organs, and the breast should be shielded from the radiation (Sherer 166). Lastly, one must also be at the correct and recommended distance from the equipment to ensure safety. This is the most important safety procedure because if one is standing too close to the equipment while in use, serious medical issues will arise. Radiologic technicians wear lead aprons, thyroid shields, and special goggles to protect themselves from the radiation, but distance is the number one procedure to carry out accurately. Effective communication is also a useful safety procedure for both the technician and the patient. The technician must treat the whole patient rather than just the area of concern. The radiologic technician should behave as compassionate professional to increase the chance

The article Radiation Protection of Medical Staff1 looks at the various occupational hazards medical imaging personnel face on a day to day basis. As technology has improved over the years, there has been an increase in the number of medical imaging procedures in which medical imaging staff must stay in the room or near the patient when the radiation exposure takes place. Because of this, medical imaging personnel could be at a substantial risk of occupational exposure to radiation and they must be aware of the proper actions and steps that are in place to keep their occupational exposure dose as low as reasonably achievable.

The quality of medical imaging is of the utmost importance in terms of safety, and must be strictly regulated through federal legislature in addition to state legislature, ensuring the persons administering radiation are held to the highest of standards. Successfully completing accredited programs in radiologic sciences, having thorough knowledge of and resolute compliance with the rules of ethics, as well as achieving certification through the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (A.R.R.T.) by means of examination warrants an imaging professional with the tools necessary to provide and maintain a safe environment for themselves and their patients alike. Respectively, all of these components contribute to a health care professional’s

For this reason patients must be aware that there is not a such thing as a safe amount of ionizing radiation. No matter how small the amount, x-rays produce ionizing radiation which is damaging to human tissue and therefore all procedures involving x-ray exposure to the patient are considered dangerous. This being the case, those who administer x-rays should be very knowledgeable about the energy they are dealing with, sadly this is not always the reality we live in. The article titled U.S. Technologists' Radiation Exposure Perceptions and Practices states that "Current literature documents excessive radiation doses from medical uses and a lack of necessary education for physicians, fluoroscopists (ie, cardiologists, radiologist, neurologists, and others trained to perform fluoroscopy) and patients concerning the benefits and dangers of medical radiation."5 This is a huge problem in the concept of patient safety when dealing with the use of ionizing radiation for medical procedures. If those administering the x-rays do not completely understand their dangers than how is a patient who most likely knows very little about the subject suppose to be the safest possible during the

Although Radiologic Technologist (R.T.’s) are most likely known as just someone who takes x-rays they do much more than that. They are responsible for setting up the x-ray equipment along with positioning a patient anatomically correct in order to take the x-rays. All while explaining the procedure to the patient (Duke University 2015). If that is not enough, they are also supposed to make sure that the correct patient is the one being examined beforehand. During the examination, if a patient is connected to an IV or a breathing device they are also supposed to make sure that it is operating properly. Making sure that a patient is comfortable, safe, and modest. So if anything where to happen R.T’s are ready to handle any medical emergency. Most importantly R.T’s are responsible for the images they are taking making sure the quality is nice and clear. The job of the Radiologic Technologist is not over when they are done with caring for a

Another concern that has risen from the body scan security debacle is the potential health risk that the scans may cause to the passengers, especially in cases of frequent fliers, young children, pregnant women, and the security guards that operate the machines. The scanners put out radiation much like the average X ray machines used in doctor’s offices but at much lower levels. This type of X ray scanner is called “backscatter scanners” and scans only detailed images of the outer flesh, not through the skin or showing bones like conventional X rays. Some supporters of the body scanners claim that the amount of radiation emitted by the scans is almost “insignificant” on normal adults (“Experts”). Although adequate testing has still not been completed to determine the full effects of repeated exposure, the concern still remains. Many OBGYN’s urge pregnant women to opt out of the body scans because a developing fetus is so much more sensitive to any potential harm that may be inflicted by the scanners, especially until more research has been completed (“Experts”).

"So why get registered? Let 's take for an example of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. They were not fully aware of how much radiation their brain scans were giving off and doctor 's were astonished by what they discovered. "The overdose was discovered when a patient reported lost patches of hair following a CT scan. The error remained unchecked for 18 months, involved more than 200 people, and exacerbated existing concerns that patients nationwide are being exposed to excess radiation during medical testing. Diagnostic imaging tests have increased Americans ' average radiation exposure seven times since 1980. Increased exposure leads to increased cancer risk although they claim that no one suffered any long-term damage from their overexposure at Cedars-Sinai, there’s no guarantee that this is the case. Some of the more than 200 patients affected received twice as much radiation as the average cancer patient would receive in one treatment, and these people did not have cancer cells to eradicate. And it’s already known that increased exposure to radiation increases your cancer risk. In fact, according to John Gofman, MD, PhD, there is strong evidence that 50 percent of the death rate from cancer, and 60 percent of the death rate from ischemic heart disease today are induced by ionizing radiation treatments. The concept of x-ray-induced cases means “cases that would not exist were it not for exposure to x-rays.”

When a woman finds out she is going to have a baby, it should be the most exciting times in her life. However, there may be many teratogens that interfere with the pregnancy and may cause future issues for the child. A teratogen “is any agent that can potentially cause a birth defect or negatively alter cognitive and behavioral outcomes” (Stantrock, page 63).

Mammography is a type of radiologic imaging used “for early detection and diagnosis of breast disease in women” (American Cancer Society). Patients receive doses of radiation that are much larger than that of a chest x-ray. It is rarely noted, that the act, in and of itself, may contribute to the development of malignant cells. Dr. Samuel Epstein, one of the top cancer experts, explains that "the premenopausal breast is highly sensitive to radiation, each 1 rad exposure increases breast cancer risk by about 1 percent. He goes on to say that a single bilateral mammography examination is directly linked with a lifetime risk of inducing fatal breast cancer” (Salazar). Consequentially, more and more women seem to be consuming radiologic

While healthy babies are born every day, not everyone is so fortunate. In many cases, diagnostic radiology is required for patients during their childhood. Can having this radiation during the formative years lead to adverse effects later in life? The biggest concern from radiation is the risk of cancer. Cancer can occur at any dose from ionizing radiation because it is a stochastic effect, meaning that it is probabilistic. The probability of a stochastic effect, such as cancer, increases as the dose increases. While receiving this radiation may be necessary, it can cause some serious trouble later in life, such as breast cancer, leukemia, and thyroid cancer.

Pediatric imaging is one of the most controversial topics in the radiology field. When imaging any patient, dose, shielding, and risk versus benefit are important factors to consider. However, with pediatrics, those factors plus other considerations become especially important as we begin to consider how the radiation affects their growing cells. The ionizing radiation causes interactions with the atom causing the atom to become charged or ionized. Children are particularly vulnerable to ionizing radiation because their cells are constantly undergoing high rates of cell division. Which makes pediatric, individuals 18 and under, imaging and adult imaging incomparable. Pediatric imaging requires specific examinations, training, and quality of

The amount of radiation people are being exposed to is continuously increasing. Medical imaging plays a big role in this increase, mostly being CT scans. This increase is radiation has been a concern to the public because of the risks patients face. It can result in long-term harm, such as increasing their chances of developing cancer. The concern has been more focused on pediatric patients because of their bodies’ greater sensitivity and they would have a longer amount of time they would have to embody any changes. Four societies started the Image Gently campaign to raise awareness of the need to decreases radiation doses when performing medical scans. Image Gently’s goal is to reduce unnecessary exposure to pediatric patients and was considered

When assisting the patient, the radiographers have to make sure they provide radiation safety not only for the patient but also for themselves. There are many different methods to providing safety. With the equipment and radiation dosage, highest KVp and the lowest mAs is used to provide the minimum amount of dosage required for the procedure. Furthermore, safety can be provided by reducing the amount of rime in radiation area, by putting as much distance between you and the radiation source as possible. When performing a portable examination stand at least six feet from x-ray source and wear a lead apron. The patient should remove any jewelry or metal accessories that may interfere with radiation procedure and both the technologist and the patient needs to wear protective lead shields for example lead gloves, aprons, skirts and thyroid shields to protect the other body parts from the radiation. It is advised to also always wear monitoring device at collar level. Lastly, the technologist uses immobilization devices to hold the patients when needed.