Evaluation of the annual effective dose to Cath Lab staff in the Afshar Hospital, Yazd and suggesting the radiation protection strategies to better management of occupational dose

Introduction Due to the increasing use of angiography procedures and the higher risk of deterministic and stochastic effects for radiation workers of these sections than other radiological procedures, radiation safety is very important in angiography staff. So, this study aimed to obtain the effective dose of angiography staff and compare them with the standard dose limit and finally outline the strategies for occupational dose reduction in angiography. Methods In this study, the report of film dosimetry of angiography staff from 2015 to 2018 were studied and annual effective doses of them were reported. The relationship between effective dose and body mass index, work experience, gender and age of staff was also evaluated. Results The results showed that the average effective dose of the physicians, nurses and radiographers in 2 months period were 0.2 mSv and their average annual effective dose were 1.6, 1.2 and 1.2, respectively. In addition, there were no significant relationship between effective dose and experience, age, sex and BMI of the radiation workers. Discussion and Conclusion The occupational effective dose in this study was less than the annual dose limit. This, don’t make their radiation protection unimportant, as this decrease may be due to good consideration of radiation protection by personnel in this ward. Therefore, as far as possible, radiation protection measures should be taken to reduce the radiation exposure of catheterization lab staff. In these staff, protection of the thyroid, eyes, gonads, and the organs that are usually outside the lead apron is of great importance.