DO SURGICAL RESIDENTS, EMERGENCY-MEDICINE PHYSICIANS, AND NURSES EXPERIENCE SIGNIFICANT RADIATION EXPOSURE DURING THE RESUSCITATION OF TRAUMA PATIENTS

During this study we investigated the yearly risk of radiation exposur e for surgical residents (group 1, n = 8), emergency department (ED) p hysicians (group 2, n = 6) and nurses (group 3, n = 97) participating in the resuscitation of trauma victims in the emergency department of a 500-bed teaching hospital. Dosimeter readings of the three study gro ups were recorded monthly over the 1-year study period. During the stu dy interval, 758 patients underwent resuscitation following trauma; 20 98 portable radiographs (758 chest films, 758 lateral cervical spine f ilms, and 582 radiographs of the pelvis) were obtained during the resu scitation phase of these patients. The total radiation exposure for gr oup 3 was significantly greater than that for groups 1 and 2 (340 +/- 50 vs. 160 +/- 112 and 20 +/- 14 mrem, respectively, p < 0.01). Indivi dual residents received a significantly greater amount of radiation th an ED physicians and nurses (20 +/- 28 vs. 3.3 +/- 2.0 and 3.5 +/- 2.0 mrem, respectively, p < 0.05). However, despite repeated exposure to radiation, individuals in the three groups did not exceed the safety l imits of 0.05 Gy/year set by the National Council on Radiation Protect ion and Measurements. Based on the results of this study, we conclude that trauma resuscitation teams can provide quality care to their pati ents without concern over the detrimental effects of radiation exposur e, provided that the basic principles of radiation protection are foll owed.