A. El Khatib et al.: Radioprotection 2026, 61( 2), 113 – 120 115
Table 1. The participant data classified according to CTA examinations and the respective CT systems utilized.
CT system CTA
GE Optima CT 540 GE REVO-EVO Philips Brilliance Siemens Go Now N Age( min-max) Weight N Age Weight N Age Weight N Age Weight
Upper limb 50 46( 17 – 83) 76( 55 – 102) – – – – – – – – – Brain 123 58( 18 – 90) 75( 55 – 89) 50 67( 36 – 98) 73( 55 – 96) – – – – – – Carotides 50 55( 18 – 80) 75( 55 – 90) 50 58( 19 – 89) 75( 55 – 90) 50 75( 39 – 90) – 50 70( 45 – 89) – Pulmonary arteries 555 63.4( 23 – 97) 72( 44 – 110) 110 71( 29 – 95) 71( 57 – 89) 64 67( 59 – 80) – 50 62( 27 – 78) – Abdominal aorta 199 56( 16 – 98) 77( 55 – 96) 50 59( 28 – 80) 72( 55 – 96) 55 71( 19 – 113) – – – – Lower limb 390 58( 18 – 100) 74( 46 – 90) 50 54( 17 – 87) 85( 55 – 87) 50 61( 52 – 77) – 50 47( 18 – 76) – Total aorta 164 57( 18 – 91) 75( 55 – 91) – – – 73 – – – – –
Table 2. Analysis of CTDI vol derived from examined CTA procedures. CTDI vol( mGy)
CTA Procedures |
A |
B |
C |
D |
P- value |
|
Mean |
Mean |
Mean |
Mean |
|
Upper Limb |
13.58 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
Brain |
29.38 |
45.06 |
– |
– |
0.000 a |
Carotids |
10.15 |
17.29 |
7.53 |
4.97 |
0.000 b |
Pulmonary areteries |
6.26 |
7.44 |
11.20 |
3.34 |
0.000 c |
Abdominal aorta |
13.29 |
9.94 |
8.57 |
– |
0.000 d |
Thorac-Abd aorta |
7.53 |
– |
11.36 |
– |
0.000 e |
Lower limb |
6.00 |
13.34 |
8.13 |
5.4 |
0.000 f |
a b c d e f significance level is at( P-Value < 0.05). Table 3. Analysis of DLP derived from examined CTA procedures. CTA Procedures DLP( mGy * cm)
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
P-Value |
|
Mean |
Mean |
Mean |
Mean |
|
Upper Limb |
701.19 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
Brain |
1221.26 |
1233.17 |
– |
– |
0.852 a |
Carotids |
1038.91 |
1159.27 |
624.21 |
453.7 |
0.000 b |
Pulmonary areteries |
348.7 |
504.28 |
459.02 |
288.3 |
0.000 c |
Abdominal aorta |
1030.53 |
1083.9 |
928.11 |
– |
0.000 d |
Thorac-Abd aorta |
1040.22 |
– |
1635.54 |
– |
0.000 e |
Lower limb |
554.41 |
1009.9 |
819.8 |
604.34 |
0.000 f |
a significance level is at( P-Value > 0.05) bcde f significance level is at( P-Value < 0. 05)
CTA, Hospital B recorded the highest values, with differences of 10.39 %, 46.17 %, and 60.84 % compared to Hospitals A, C, and D, respectively. For Pulmonary Artery CTA, differences of 10.38 %, 37.14 %, and 43.43 % were observed compared to Hospitals C, A, and D, respectively. In vascular explorations of the Abdominal Aorta, differences of 4.93 % and 14.37 % were noted compared to Hospitals A and C, respectively. In addition, for Lower Limb CTA, variations of 18.81 %, 40.12 %, and 45.08 % were noted compared to Centers C, D, and A, respectively. Lastly, Total Aorta CTA revealed a difference of 57.24 % between Centers A and C.
4 Discussion
The comparison of LDRLs revealed that Hospital B recorded the highest LDRLs, except for the pulmonary artery protocol in terms of CTDI vol. Conversely, Hospital D generally exhibited the lowest DRL values, except for the pulmonary artery and lower limb protocols in terms of CTDI vol and DLP, respectively. The lower DRLs at Hospital D can be attributed to more optimized acquisition parameters programmed by the radiological technologist. For instance, the maximum kV used is 110 kV, and the pitch values are the highest compared to the