Patient dose audit in common CT examinations

A dose audit was performed to evaluate the radiation dose to 573 adult patients, who underwent eleven common CT examinations in two different CT scanners: one with 16 detector rows (GE Light Speed 16) and one with 80 detector rows (Toshiba Aquilion Prime 80). The volume computed tomography dose index (CTDIvol), dose length product (DLP), as well as patients’ demographic and technical data were recorded. The 75th percentiles of the distribution of the CTDIvol and DLP values were proposed as institutional (local) diagnostic reference levels (IDRLs) and were compared to corresponding national (NDRLs) and international values. All dose values are based on the 32-cm body phantom, except for the head, sinuses and auditory canal examinations in Toshiba system, as well as the head and neck examinations in GE system where the 16-cm head phantom is used. A reduction of up to 67% and 64% (Mann-Whitney test p