Evaluation of radiation protection principles and 10-day rule observance for women prone to pregnancy: brief report

Background: Today, with the increasing use of ionizing radiation like X-rays in diagnosis and treatment of diseases, the risk of fetal exposure in pregnant women also increases. Therefore, protecting pregnant women from ionizing radiation is essential and is considered as the standard criterion for Medical Radiation Center. So the aim of this study was to investigate the observance of protective principles and 10-day rule in imaging of susceptible women. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out at the Radiography Centers of Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, from July 2017 to September 2017. First, patients who were under radiography, were asked about the knowledge of the radiographers about the 10-day rule and radiation protection. Then a questionnaire with 12 questions was given to the radiographers in radiology and CT scan center. Finally, the existence of protection guidelines for pregnant women was determined by asking manager and checking at the moment. Results: The patient's question about pregnancy failed about 19%, which did not have a significant relationship with patients' singleness (P=0.0004). Also the mean scores for the knowledge of radiographers about radiation protection were 14.21±0.96, which did not have a significant relationship with their work record and place of employment and their educational level (P=0.09). On the other hand, in half of the radiography centers, the written radiation protection guidelines were not available. Conclusion: Principles of radiation protection and 10-day rule for radiography of women who were prone to pregnancy were desirable but due to importance of radiation protection, the rules should be more carefully implemented.