Background. International Atomic Energy Agency launched in September 2009 the "3 A?s campaign": Audit, Appropriateness and Awareness for radiological justification, which is an effective tool for cancer prevention. Cardiologists prescribe the majority of radiological testing, but their awareness of doses and risks of cardio-radiological exams is low. Aim. To assess radiological awareness of cardiologists before and after 1-day intensive radioprotection primer course as a part of the SUIT-Heart (Stop Useless Imaging Testing in Heart Disease) project, funded by the Tuscany Region. Methods. A 1-day 6-hours primer of radioprotection for cardiologists was held 9 times over 3 years for 294 physicians (8 educational credits by the Italian Health Ministry). For each attendee, a radiological awareness score was obtained before and after the course, with a 10 multiple-choice (5 answers) survey on radioprotection basics (doses of common examinations in multiples of chest x-rays; associated cancer risk, etc...). Each answer was scored from 0 ("don?t know") to 4 (?right?). Awareness score ranged from 0/40 (no awareness) to 40/40 (full awareness). Results. The radiological awareness score of the 294 attendees improved from 31±3 (before) to 37±2 (after training, p.001 vs pre). At baseline, 47 physicians (15.9%) thought that radiation risk is independent from age and gender (whereas it is 4-fold higher in children 1 year and 38% higher in females), 196 (66.6%) that stochastic cancer risk is absent and 65 (22.1%) that radiation risk disappears over time (whereas it is cumulative over the lifetime): see figure. Conclusions: Awareness of radiological doses and risks, albeit essential for risk-benefit assessment of radiological testing, is poor among cardiologists, but can dramatically improve with a limited teaching effort through targeted training
Radiological (un)awareness in cardiologists, and how to improve it: the SUIT-Heart (Stop Useless Imaging Testing in Heart Disease) Project
Kraft G;
2010
Abstract
Background. International Atomic Energy Agency launched in September 2009 the "3 A?s campaign": Audit, Appropriateness and Awareness for radiological justification, which is an effective tool for cancer prevention. Cardiologists prescribe the majority of radiological testing, but their awareness of doses and risks of cardio-radiological exams is low. Aim. To assess radiological awareness of cardiologists before and after 1-day intensive radioprotection primer course as a part of the SUIT-Heart (Stop Useless Imaging Testing in Heart Disease) project, funded by the Tuscany Region. Methods. A 1-day 6-hours primer of radioprotection for cardiologists was held 9 times over 3 years for 294 physicians (8 educational credits by the Italian Health Ministry). For each attendee, a radiological awareness score was obtained before and after the course, with a 10 multiple-choice (5 answers) survey on radioprotection basics (doses of common examinations in multiples of chest x-rays; associated cancer risk, etc...). Each answer was scored from 0 ("don?t know") to 4 (?right?). Awareness score ranged from 0/40 (no awareness) to 40/40 (full awareness). Results. The radiological awareness score of the 294 attendees improved from 31±3 (before) to 37±2 (after training, p.001 vs pre). At baseline, 47 physicians (15.9%) thought that radiation risk is independent from age and gender (whereas it is 4-fold higher in children 1 year and 38% higher in females), 196 (66.6%) that stochastic cancer risk is absent and 65 (22.1%) that radiation risk disappears over time (whereas it is cumulative over the lifetime): see figure. Conclusions: Awareness of radiological doses and risks, albeit essential for risk-benefit assessment of radiological testing, is poor among cardiologists, but can dramatically improve with a limited teaching effort through targeted trainingI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
