Dose Reference Levels in Radiography for the Most Common Examinations in Sudan

Background: The aim of this study was to establish national diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) for the first time in Sudan. This is done through evaluation of entrance surface dose (ESD) to patients undergoing selected X-ray examinations.Materials and Methods: ESD per examination was estimated from X-ray tube output parameters in 15 hospitals comprising 20 rooms and a sample of 8 most common X-ray examinations with 11 basic views and a total of 1490 projections. Third quartile was calculated from the resultant distributed mean ESDs in each hospital surveyed.Results: The results obtained in mGy were, 1.9 for PA skull, 1.2 for lateral Skull, 0.539 for PA chest, 3 for abdomen and pelvis, 4.9 for AP lumbosacral spine, 18.5 for lateral lumbosacral spine, 1.35 for AP cervical spine, 1.67 for lateral cervical spine 0.4 for AP knee joint and 1.4 for AP shoulder. With exception of PA chest in all hospitals, mean ESDs were found to be within the international reference dose the major drawback is the large variations in hospitals for the same procedure.Conclusions: The results are valuable for establishing a solid base for national ESDs and can provide a data base for future dose measurements