[en] Full text: In the UK, the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2000 state that 'the written procedure for medical exposures shall include...procedures for making enquiries of females of childbearing age to establish whether the individual is or may be pregnant...'. Despite the importance of this question and the potential for causing great distress and anxiety if an examination involving ionising radiation is performed on a pregnant patient, the guidance available is vague and there is no universally accepted procedure on when and how to ask this difficult question. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the procedure for enquiring about possible pregnancy varies from department to department. To investigate this further, we devised a questionnaire to send out to diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine departments across the UK. Questions asked related to the department's written procedure, the examinations for which the question would be asked, the age of women asked and the recording of whether the question was asked and the outcome. Responses were received from over 300 individuals from 66 different hospitals. The majority (73.5%) were from X-ray departments, 14.0% were from nuclear medicine and the remaining 12.5% included computed tomography, neuroradiology, angiography and cardiac catheter labs. 97.0% have a written procedure, 1.2% do not, 0.9% do not know and 0.9% gave no response. Of the responses from X-ray departments, 17% ask the question for all examinations, while 83% ask for examinations of specific body regions. Several body regions were stated and were divided into 9 categories with the main one being diaphragm to knees (45%). Nuclear medicine departments ask for all examinations. With regard to establishing the 'childbearing age', 5% state that for younger and older patients they ascertain whether the female has started/stopped menstruation before asking the pregnancy question (no age range given), and 95% state an age range of the females to whom they ask the question. 60% of the latter group establish whether menstruation has started/stopped at either end of the age range spectrum. Over 30 different age ranges were stated for the 'childbearing age'. The majority (63%) stated an age range of 12-55. The lower age limit ranged between 10 and 16, while the upper limit was in the range of 45 to 65. The majority (97.6%) do record that the question has been asked and the outcome, although the location of these records is not consistent across departments. Also there is a lack of consistency over whether this record is signed and by whom. The results demonstrate the large variations between individuals in carrying out this procedure. It was also found that even though departments have a written procedure, it is not necessarily being followed. It is our aim to encourage professional bodies within the UK to agree and adopt an unambiguous procedure for asking 'the pregnancy question'. (author)