CVIR Special Issue on Radiation Protection

Excerpt

Radiation-induced tissue reactions and malignant diseases were for a long time considered to be an issue of the past. However, with the introduction of CT and fluoroscopically guided interventions (FGI), nearly forgotten detriments of ionizing radiation have returned. In the 1990s, several authors reported skin injuries in patients undergoing fluoroscopy-guided interventions, loss of hair following CT perfusion scans and neurointerventions [1]. Just recently, Li et al. [2] reported an alarmingly high effective dose in a significant number of patients who had one or more fluoroscopically guided interventional procedures. This calls for a change in the practice of interventional radiologists and endovascular therapists, otherwise we would be scrutinised by competent authorities and the public more and more. Since stochastic risks take several years to manifest, the connection between it and an intervention is no longer that apparent. …