Authors
Sezer Kula, Öykü Püsküllüoğlu, İdil Sarıçam, Kayhan Çetin Atasoy
Published in
Diagnostic and interventional radiology (Ankara, Turkey). Oct 06, 2026. Epub Oct 06, 2026.
Abstract
To evaluate changes in patient radiation dose following a targeted collimation training program for radiographers during routine adult chest radiography.
This single-center retrospective before-and-after study included adult chest radiographs acquired on a single digital radiography system during two consecutive 3-month periods: pre-training (May-July 2025) and post-training (August-October 2025). A structured collimation training session emphasizing anatomical boundaries and the limitations of digital cropping was implemented on August 1, 2025. Dose area product (DAP) values were extracted from Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) metadata. Group comparisons were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test and paired analysis using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Age-adjusted regression with robust standard errors was used to assess the independent association between the intervention and radiation dose.
A total of 3,583 adult chest radiographs (1,792 pre-training and 1,791 post-training) were analyzed. The DAP values demonstrated a markedly non-normal, positively skewed distribution in both periods. Median DAP decreased from 143.7 to 130.3 mGy·cm, representing a 9.3% reduction (P < 0.001). Mean DAP decreased from 173.0 ± 103.6 to 155.2 ± 98.2 mGy·cm. In the paired-patient analysis (n = 64), median DAP decreased from 139.8 to 128.9 mGy·cm, corresponding to a 7.8% reduction; however, this difference did not reach statistical significance on Wilcoxon signed-rank testing (P = 0.059). Following adjustment for age, examinations performed during the post-training period remained independently associated with an 11.7% lower DAP (95% confidence interval, 9.0%-14.4% lower; P < 0.001).
Targeted collimation training was associated with a significant reduction in radiation dose in chest radiography. Structured training represents a simple and effective strategy for dose optimization in routine clinical practice.
In digital radiography, electronic cropping may mask inadequate collimation and lead to unrecognized unnecessary radiation exposure. Effective pre-exposure collimation, by limiting the irradiated field to the area of clinical interest, plays a key role in reducing patient dose and improving radiation safety in routine practice.
PMID:
42834808
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 06 Oct 2026.
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