Ionizing diagnostic radiation exposure in patients with Crohn's disease: A retrospective study in a medium hospital and its predictive factors.

INTRODUCTION: It is estimated that diagnostic medical radiation exposure may be responsable for 0.5-2% of cancers worldwide. Because of the relapsing course of Crohn's disease (CD), these patients usually requiere multiple ionizing radiation test.

OBJECTIVE: Stimating the total cumulative effective dose received by our CD patients and identifying the risk factors associated with the exposure to a cumulative effective dose due to the disease (CEED) > 50mSv.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective cohort study (2001-2014).

POPULATION: patients with CD. Risk dose >50mSv. For calculating de cumulative effective dose and the CEED, all the ionizing test done were taken. For identifying predictive factors for receiving a CEDD >50mSv, an univariate and a multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed using a >50mSv dose as dependent variable.

RESULTS: Of the 267 patients analyzed the 24.6% of them received a cumulative effective dose > 50mSv and the 15.2% a CEED>50mSv. In the multivariate analysis, the following variables were identified as independent predictors associated with a CEDD >50mSv: major surgery (OR= 2.1; IC95% [1.1-3.8]; p=.019) and severity (OR= 20.6; IC95% [4.5-94.8]; p<.01).

CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CD are more at risk of receiving risk CEED, so it would be advisable to monitor the cumulative effective dose received to anticipate our intervention in order to avoid reaching that dose. The ultrasounds and abdominal resonance enterography are alternatives in these cases, although their accessibility is limited in some centers.