SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE DOSES OF IONIZING RADIATION RELATED TO DIAGNOSTIC AND FOLLOW-UP IMAGING IN PATIENTS WITH SOLITARY PULMONARY NODULES?

Diagnosing solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) frequently requires radiological follow up associated with exposure to ionizing radiation. The aim of this study was to estimate the effective dose of ionizing radiation in patients diagnosed and followed up due to SPNs, which were found beyond lung cancer screening programs. We estimated the exposure to ionizing radiation as effective doses (ED) of all imaging techniques using ionizing radiation: chest computed tomography (CT), contrast enhanced CT (CECT) and positron emission tomography combined with CT (PET/CT) in each patient. The median ED related to CT, CECT and PET/CT were 27.8, 17.2 and 20.4 mSv, respectively. The total ED related to all imaging examinations performed during 2 years of radiological follow-up was 33.9 mSv (range: 3.2-122.4) per patient. Majority (59%) of radiation exposure resulted from repeated chest CT. In conclusion, diagnosis and follow up of patients with SPN with different radiological techniques is associated with high exposure to ionizing radiation.