Abstract
The caldose_x 5.0 software has been used to assess the entrance skin doses (ESD) and effective doses (ED) of adult patients undergoing x-ray examinations of the thorax/chest (PA/RLAT), pelvis (AP), cervical spine (AP/LAT), thoracic spine (AP) and lumber spine (AP) in three public hospitals each equipped with constant potential generators (no ripple), an x-ray emission angle of 17° and a total filtration of 2.5 mm Al. In all, 320 patients were surveyed with an average of over 100 patients per a hospital. The patients' data and exposure parameters captured into the software included age, sex, examination type, projection posture, tube potential and current-time product. The mean ESD and ED of seven different examinations were calculated using the software and compared with published works and internationally established diagnostic reference levels. The mean ESD calculated were 0.27 mGy, 0.43 mGy, 1.31 mGy, 1.05 mGy, 0.45 mGy, 2.10 mGy, 3.25 mGy and the mean effective doses were 0.02 mSv, 0.01 mSv, 0.09 mSv, 0.05 mSv, 0.03 mSv, 0.13 mSv, 0.41 mSv for thorax (PA), thorax/chest (RLAT), Pelvis (AP), cervical spine (AP), cervical spine (LAT), thoracic spine (AP) and lumber spine (AP) respectively. Keywords: Entrance skin dose, Effective dose, X-rays