Patient radiation exposure during coronary angiography and intervention

Purpose: To prospectively register fluoroscopic and cine times in a random fashion, and to measure patient radiation exposure from routine coronary angiography and coronary balloon angioplasty. We also evaluated an optional dose reduction system used during interventions.Material and Methods: The incident radiation to the patient was measured as kerma area product (KAP) in Gycm², obtained from an ionisation chamber mounted on the undercouch tube during 65 coronary angiography procedures and another 53 percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasties (including 29 stent procedures), mostly directly following complete coronary angiography.Results and Conclusion: The values from coronary angiography were comparable to other reports with a mean fluoroscopic time of 4.4 min and a mean KAP value of 62.6 Gycm². The corresponding figures from coronary balloon angioplasty without stenting were lower than otherwise reported, with 8.2 min and 47.9 Gycm², respectively. The use of coronary stents did prolong the mean fluoroscopic time (10.5 min) but did not significantly enhance the patient mean radiation dose (51.4 Gycm²). The dose reduction technique resulted in a significant KAP value reduction of 57%. In conclusion, with regard to radiation exposure, coronary angiography and balloon angioplasty are considered safe procedures.