IONIZING RADIATION EXPOSURE IN PATIENTS WITH COVID-19: MORE THAN NEEDED

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the ionizing radiation exposure in patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study in which all patients presented with suggestive symptoms of COVID-19 were included. The study was carried out in a university-affiliated private hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. Biological radiation dose exposure (cumulative effective dose: CED) was evaluated in millisievert (mSv) units. Results: A total of 1410 patients were included in the study. Of all study subjects, 804 patients (57%) underwent only one chest computed tomography (CT) procedure. Six hundred and six patients (43%) had two or more chest CT procedures. Median CED was 6.02 (min-max:1.67-16.27) mSv. The number of patients who were exposed to <= 5 mSv were 149 (24.6%), whereas 457 patients (75.4%) were exposed to >5 mSv. Conclusion: The radiation exposure in COVID-19 patients seems unjustifiably high. Awareness should be increased as to the proper use of chest CT in COVID-19 as per to the society recommendations.