Occupational radiation dose trends in U.S. radiologic technologists assisting with fluoroscopically-guided interventional procedures, 1980-2020.

PURPOSE: To summarize dose trends from 1980-2020 for 19,651 U.S. radiologic technologists who reported assisting with fluoroscopically-guided interventional procedures (FGIP), overall and by work history characteristics.

METHODS: We summarized 762,310 annual personal dose equivalents at a 10 mm-reference depth ("doses") during 1980-2020 for 43,823 participants of the U.S. Radiologic Technologists (USRT) cohort who responded to work history questionnaires administered during 2012-2014. This population included 19,651 technologists who reported assisting with FGIP (≥1 time per month for ≥12 consecutive months) at any time during the study period. We estimated doses corresponding to assistance with FGIP by proximity to patients, monthly procedure frequency, and procedure type. We used box plots and summary statistics (e.g., median, percentiles) to describe annual doses and dose trends.

RESULTS: Median annual dose corresponding to assistance with FGIP was 0.65 mSv, [interquartile range (IQR)=0.60-1.40; 95th percentile=6.80]. Higher occupational doses with wider variability were associated with close proximity to patients during assistance with FGIP (median=1.20 mSv; IQR=0.60-4.18; 95th percentile=12.66), performing ≥20 FGIP per month (median=0.75 mSv; IQR=0.60, 2.40; 95th percentile=9.44), and assisting with high-dose FGIP (median=0.70; IQR=0.60, 1.90; 95th percentile=8.30).

CONCLUSION: Occupational doses corresponding to assistance with FGIP were generally low but varied with exposure frequency, procedure type, and proximity to patients. These results highlight the need for vigilant dose monitoring, radiation safety training, and proper protective equipment.