Establishing Regional Diagnostic Reference Level (DRL) for Chest Radiography in Madagascar

The radiation exposure resulting from the medical diagnostic examinations is very significant and represents the largest man- made source of the radiation exposure to population in Madagascar. Establishment of the Diagnostic Reference Level (DRL) helps to avoid radiation dose to the patients that does not contribute to medical diagnosis, but so far, there is a lack of data to allow such determination. The aim of this study is to evaluate the radiation doses to patients undergoing chest diagnostic X-ray examinations and to assist in the development of regional DRL for chest radiography in the capital Antananarivo City and the southern regions of Madagascar.