Patient dose assessment in computed tomography in a Moroccan imaging department

Facing the inflation of the number of irradiating radiological examinations, particularly in Computed Tomography (CT), several countries in the world have resorted to diagnostic reference levels (DRLs), below which dosimetric values must be kept or else corrective actions will be infligated. In Morocco, in the absence of national diagnostic reference levels, we proposed to evaluate the professional practice in CT by recording the radiation doses values delivered to adult patients and comparing the 75th percentile values of the dosimetric indicators (CTDIvol and DLP) per acquisition to the international published values of DRLs, in order to judge the need for optimization of CT examination protocols. The 75th percentile values in terms of CTDIvol for head, chest, abdomen-pelvis, chest-abdomen-pelvis, and lumbar examinations were respectively 57.7, 11.1, 11.3, 11.6 and 20 mGy. In terms of DLP, the 75th percentile values were 1250.4, 392.2, 517.1, 833.27 and 707.37 mGy.cm, for the mentioned type of examinations. These results prompt us to make corrections to the used protocols and to ensure a more rigorous follow-up of the radiation protection principles with particular attention to the principle of dose optimization in order to establish a good practice in CT

Radiation protection in the operating room: Need for training, qualification and accompaniment for the professionals

The objective of this work was to evaluate the knowledge of the professionals working in the operating room about the risks associated to exposure to X-rays, and the radiation protection practices. To meet this objective, we conducted a multicenter study in three Moroccan hospitals. Data collection was carried out with a self-administered questionnaire to the professionals. The results showed that more than a third of the participants ignore the ionizing nature of X-rays; and that the effects of exposure to ionizing radiation are related to cumulative dose. Three percent of the participants were aware about the effective dose limit of ionizing radiation for workers for a year and the annual dose limits to the extremities or to the skin. 45.50% of participants had no knowledge about the most irradiating technique when using the amplifier; 58.21% felt that continuous fluoroscopy mode was the most irradiating. All of the participants declared the absence of a radiation protection referent, and did not use any written procedures guide for the most common radiological examinations in interventional imaging. Multidisciplinary cooperation, at least, between radiology staff and operating room staff appears imperative, and seems to strengthen the system of vigilance and protection against the harmful effects of ionizing radiation

Multicentre study on hand hygiene facilities and practice in the Mediterranean area: results from the NosoMed Network

Hand hygiene literature is scarce in the southern Mediterranean\ud area. In order to establish a baseline position, a study was performed in four\ud Mediterranean countries. Seventy-seven hospital wards in 22 hospitals were\ud enrolled and information on hand hygiene practice and facilities were\ud collected. The overall compliance rate was very low (27.6%), and was\ud significantly higher where the perceived risk was considered to be high.\ud Intensive care units showed the highest level of compliance. Analysis by\ud country indicated higher compliance in Egypt (52.8%) and Tunisia (32.3%)\ud compared with Algeria (18.6%) and Morocco (16.9%). Facilities for hand\ud hygiene, particularly consumables, were shown to be deficient. Multiapproach\ud programmes combining the production of official local recommendations,\ud education and regular evaluation of hand hygiene practice are much\ud needed to improve the present situation