LOCAL STUDY OF DIAGNOSTIC REFERENCE LEVELS FOR COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY EXAMINATIONS OF ADULT PATIENTS IN IZMIR, TURKEY

Purpose: This study aims to develop local diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) for the most common computed tomography (CT) examinations carried out around Izmir, Turkey. Methods: Five common CT examinations (head, neck, chest, abdomen-pelvis (AP), chest-abdomen-pelvis (CAP)) from four different radiology centres have been included in the study. CT dose index-volume (CTDIvol) and dose length product (DLP) values were recorded for 50 patients per exam in each centre. Third quartiles of CTDIvol and DLP values were determined as DRLs and compared with international findings. Results: 51.3% of the patients were male and 48.7% were female, with a mean age of 57 (between 18 and 93). DRLs for CTDIvol were recorded as 70, 16, 15, 23 and 16 for head, neck, chest, AP and CAP examinations, respectively, while the corresponding DLPs were 1385, 604, 567, 998 and 1180 mGy.cm. Conclusion: Results are mostly comparable to the latest international data, except for the head examinations, which were observed to slightly exceed the DRLs established by other countries.