Dose evaluation in urography radiological procedures

The aim of this study was to carry out the measurements of kerma-area product (KAP) with 47 patients during the urography examinations in two hospitals located in the city of Rio de Janeiro - Alpha and Bravo Hospitals - employing a KAP measurer. 16 out of 47 patients were within the biometric variations defined by the Decree No. 453 of the Ministry of Health of Brazil on June 1st, 1998, as being considered typical adult patients. The average values of KAP obtained through the measurer for intravenous urography examinations for all radiographic projections and for AP projections were 3,937.71 cGy cm2 and 3,596.56 cGy cm2 in Alpha Hospital. In Bravo Hospital, the average values of KAP for the same examination for all radiographic projections and for AP projections were 641.81 cGy cm2 and 586.44 cGy cm2, and for uretrocistography examinations the average values of KAP were 576.32 cGy cm2 for all radiographic projections and 288.16 cGy cm2 for AP projections. This study shows the adequacy of the methodology to carry out the examinations once the KAP measurer is a very simple and important tool for dose measurements in patients to be established and/or compared with reference levels and quality control. (author)