International Research and Academic scholar society

IRASS Journal of Applied Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Issue-9(September), Volume-3 2026

1. Evaluation of dosimetric indicators of routine CT scan examinations in...
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Yene Zang Bernard Severin*, Bikoy Emmanuel Junior, Doudou Nafissatou, Ngadang Fosso Catherine Ingrid
Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, Green Hope University / Ngaoundéré Military Hospital, Cameroon
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https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22667700

Radiation protection aims at an appropriate level of protection for patients, staff, populations and the environment against the adverse effects of exposure to ionizing radiation without unnecessarily limiting desirable activities that can be associated with this exposure. Objective: Evaluate the doses delivered to adult patients during routine cerebral, thoracic, abdominal and abdominopelvic computed tomography (CT) examinations performed in two health facilities in the city of Yaoundé. Methods: This was a retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted over six months, from March to August 2025, in two healthcare facilities in Yaoundé. The records of adult patients aged 18 years and older who underwent cerebral, thoracic, abdominal, or abdominopelvic CT scans, with or without contrast injection, were included. Sociodemographic, clinical, technical, and dosimetric data were collected from registries and patient records and then analyzed using SPSS version 20. The main dosimetric indicators studied were CTDIvol and the dose-length product (DLP). Results: The sample comprised 111 examinations: 76 brain CT scans (68.5%), 16 chest CT scans (14.4%), 13 abdominal CT scans (11.7%), and 6 abdominopelvic CT scans (5.4%). Men represented 65.7% of the patients, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.9. The mean age was 45 years. The median CTDIvol was 24.75 mGy for brain CT, 11.2 mGy for chest CT, 13.6 mGy for abdominal CT, and 10.8 mGy for abdominopelvic CT. The 75th percentiles of CTDIvol were 42.15 mGy, 14.95 mGy, 37.56 mGy, and 25.22 mGy, respectively. The 75th percentiles of DLP were respectively 837, 15, 512, 65, 1808.9 and 1017.2 mGy•cm. Conclusion: The observed dose levels varied depending on the type of examination and the imaging center. Cerebral values were lower than several international reference values, while thoracic, abdominal, and abdominopelvic values were higher according to the reference values considered. The establishment of national diagnostic reference levels, combined with regular audits and the optimization of acquisition protocols, appears necessary to strengthen patient radiation protection in Cameroon.