The radiation exposure from a lumbosacral Xray study was dismissed by someone as relatively trivial: akin to that received on a flight from Melbourne to Sydney. But according to the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website 3.25 microSievert per hour occurs at 30,000 feet. A lumbar spine study produces about 1 milliSievert. Thus a lumbar spine (AP and lateral) Xray has the similiar radiation exposure of 300 hours at 30,000 feet.
Comparisons of medical diagnostic radiology to aviation exposure are not valid.
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Ruminations on the craft of anaesthesia anesthesia. This blog is a professional, rather than a personal reflection.
1 comment:
a CXR, OTOH, is 20 microsieverts. it just goes to show that lumbar spine xrays are ridiculous in terms of radiation dose - they're about 10% of a CT chest-abdo-pelvis, which gives you massively more information.
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