ENTRANCE SKIN DOSES IN PEDIATRIC RADIOLOGY

Abstract
The medical use of ionizing radiation is the principal cause of human exposure to man-made radiation sources. Therefore, the techniques and the procedures must be constantly reevaluated, in order to reduce the doses to the patient and to the public in general. With respect to the patient, the radiological protection is extremely important, especially in pediatric radiology. In this case, the dose in each procedure must be as low as possible without compromising the diagnostic outcome, since children are more sensitive to the radiation and they have a longer life expectancy, if they are compared to adult patients. The aim of this work was to examine the panorama of Brazilian children entrance skin doses levels in thorax X-ray examinations. In addition, the relationship between the skin doses values obtained and the techniques and the characteristics of the X-ray machine utilized is discussed.

Key words
Pediatric radiology, radiographic techniques, entrance skin doses, international recommendations, reference levels

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