Estimates of Patient Radiation Doses in Digital Radiography Using DICOM Information at a Large Teaching Hospital in Oman

In this study, we sought to estimate the patient radiation doses in the digital radiography X-ray examinations conducted in a large hospital. The patient exposure factors and kerma-area product (P_KA) were retrospectively recorded via the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) header for 547 patients. The entrance surface air kerma (ESAK) was estimated from the measurements of the X-ray tube output and recorded exposure factors, as well as from the console that displayed P_KA as an alternative method. Effective doses were estimated from ESAK and P_KA values using the appropriate conversion coefficient. In the chest PA, chest LAT, cervical spine AP, cervical spine LAT, abdomen AP, pelvis AP, lumbar spine AP, and lumbar spine LAT, the median ESAK (mGy) was found to be 0.13, 0.27, 0.35, 0.52, 0.70, 1.06, 2.33, and 4.18 mGy, respectively. Median P_KA values were 0.10, 0.26, 0.14, 0.17, 0.77, 0.68, 0.81, and 1.11 Gy cm², respectively. The estimated effective dose from ESAK and P_KA values yielded comparable results. The comparison revealed that the ESAK and P_KA values fell far below the reported in the literature. The results showed that the information of the DICOM deader is valuable for dosimetry and optimization.