Hematological and Cytogenetic Effects of X-rays in Cardiac Unit Workers and Catheterization Patients

Introduction X-rays are widely used in medicine for diagnosis and treatment. Such beneficial uses may cause potentially hazardous situations for patients and workers in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. The present study aims to estimate the radiation dose scattered in different parts of the catheterization units and doses absorbed by workers in this unit, and patients who underwent cardiac catheterization procedures to evaluate all changes in hematological parameters and damaged cells (the cells that contain a number of chromosomal aberrations) after exposure to radiation at Azadi Teaching Hospital in the Duhok City of Iraq. Methodology The study was conducted in one year and involved 19 male workers chronically exposed to X-ray machines in the cardiac catheterization laboratory, and 45 patients, 20 males and 25 females, who have been exposed to lower doses of X-ray during the cardiac catheterization process. There were 32 healthy individuals, 19 males and 13 females, as a control. Scattered radiation was calculated using an area monitoring detector. Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dosimeter and Flat Panel Detector (FPD) were used to calculate absorbed doses by workers and patients, respectively. Twelve hematological parameters before and after radiation were examined between study groups; the cytogenetic effects, damaged cells, and chromosomal aberrations of the white blood cells of workers, patients in the catheterization unit, and individuals of the control group were analyzed. Results The results showed that the scattered X-rays in the catheterization unit after one year of continuous detection did not change significantly compared to the data before the start of the trial. The results of all blood parameters looked to be significantly different (p0.05) in corpuscular hemoglobin, white blood cells, red distribution width, and neutrophil values for workers after one year of exposure as compared with the control. Also, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in white blood cells, neutrophils, and monocyte values for patients after the operation. The current study showed the damaged cells in workers were significantly different compared to the control. At the same time, the differences were non-significant for all workers (p=0.0962) after one year of exposure. The differences in damaged cells in patients were highly significant after the