BMJ  2003;327 (16 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7411.0-c

Doctors know little about radiation exposure

Even for commonly requested radiological tests, few doctors know about the level of radiation their patients are exposed to. Shiralkar and colleagues (p 371) conducted a questionnaire study among doctors in South Wales and Oxford to ascertain how much doctors know about the radiation doses associated with common radiological investigations. Not one of the 40 senior house officers, 40 specialist registrars, 40 consultants, or 10 consultant radiologists who were interviewed knew the approximate dose of radiation received during a chest radiograph. Overall, 97% of doctors' predictions were underestimates. The authors say that the level of knowledge is disappointing, given that radiation has a small but definite risk to patients' health and that examinations are often inappropriate or need to be repeated.

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Relevant Article

Doctors' knowledge of radiation exposure: questionnaire study

S Shiralkar, A Rennie, M Snow, R B Galland, M H Lewis, and K Gower-Thomas
BMJ 2003 327: 371-372. [Full Text] [PDF]