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Cited by 24Radiation Dose and ImagingRadiology practices and educationAdvanced Radiotherapy Techniques

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 15 of the 15 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Diagnostic reference levels in low- and middle-income countries: early “ALARAm” bells?

Meyer, Steven, Groenewald, Willem A, Pitcher, Richard D·2017·Acta Radiologica
DOI 10.1177/0284185116658681
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Abstract

Background: In 1996 the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) introduced diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) as a quality assurance tool for radiation dose optimization. While many countries have published DRLs, available data are largely from high-income countries. There is arguably a greater need for DRLs in low- and middle-income-countries (LMICs), where imaging equipment may be older and trained imaging technicians are scarce. To date, there has been no critical analysis of the published work on DRLs in LMICs. Such work is important to evaluate data deficiencies and stimulate future quality assurance initiatives. Purpose: To review the published work on DRLs in LMICs and to critically analyze the comprehensiveness of available data. Material and Methods: Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science database searches were conducted for English-language articles published between 1996 and 2015 documenting DRLs for diagnostic imaging in LMICs. Retrieved articles were analyzed and classified by geographical region, country of origin, contributing author, year of publication, imaging modality, body part, and patient age. Results: Fifty-three articles reported DRLs for 28 of 135 LMICs (21%), reflecting data from 26/104 (25%) middle-income countries and 2/31 (6%) low-income countries. General radiography (n = 26, 49%) and computerized tomography (n = 17, 32%) data were most commonly reported. Pediatric DRLs (n = 14, 26%) constituted approximately one-quarter of published work. Conclusion: Published DRL data are deficient in the majority of LMICs, with the paucity most striking in low-income countries. DRL initiatives are required in LMICs to enhance dose optimization.

Overview

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Crossref · 10.1177/0284185116658681

Cites

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Citations

Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Radiological protection and safety in medicine, 1996, Ann ICRP, 26, 1
  2. IAEA safety standards radiation protection and safety of radiation sources: international basic safety standards interim edition for protecting people and the environment. No. GSR Part 3 (Interim). Available at: www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/p1531interim_web.pdf (accessed 21 October 2015).
  3. Kabongo JM, 2015, Pan Afr Med J, 18, 22
  4. Podgorsak EB. Medical Physics – a profession and science. Intensive course and workshop. The world of medical physics, king Faisal specialist hospital & research center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. December, 2010. Available at: www.radmed.org/Med%20Phys%20Intro.pdf (accessed 24 October 2015).

Cited by

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Metadata

Authors
Meyer, S., Groenewald, W. A., & Pitcher, R. D.
Affiliations
Stellenbosch University (ZA)
Corresponding author
Meyer, Steven
ORCID
Pitcher, Richard D
Venue
Acta Radiologica
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2016-08-20
Volume
58
Issue
4
Pages
442-448
ISSN
  • 0284-1851 (ISSN-L)
  • 1600-0455
DOI
10.1177/0284185116658681
OpenAlex
W2507175153
Cited by
24
References
15
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3 · 2017: 2
FWCI
0.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Acta Radiologica (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Radiation Dose and Imaging
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Radiology practices and education
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Radiation › Advanced Radiotherapy Techniques
Keywords
diagnostic reference levels, low- and middle-income countries, radiation dose optimization, ICRP, general radiography, computed tomography, pediatric radiation dose
MeSH terms
Adult, Child, Developing Countries, Humans, Radiation Dosage, Radiation Protection, Radiography, Reference Values

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Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).

Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.