No Egbe

Pediatric radiography entrance doses for some routine procedures in three hospitals within eastern Nigeria

A survey of the entrance surface doses in the routine radiography of children in eastern Nigeria has been carried out in three hospitals, using thermoluminescence detectors. Chest, abdomen, lumbar spine, skull and pelvis were covered in this study. Findings reveal that doses are higher than the recommended reference values elsewhere, as well as values reported for Sudan. The mean percentage difference in entrance doses for chest radiography for this study and an earlier one carried out for three hospitals in the west of Nigeria is about 44.7%. The high doses are traceable to a lack of standardization in procedure, resulting in use of low tube voltages and high currents for examination, as well as the status of facilities in the area. Recommendations are made for immediate corrective measures to lower the doses.

Radiation exposure levels within timber industries in Calabar, Nigeria.

The UNSCEAR (2000) observed that there could be some exposure at work which would require regulatory control but is not really considered. This study was, therefore, set up to evaluate the effective dose in timber industries in Calabar, Nigeria to determine if the evaluated dose levels could lead to any radiological health effect in the workers, and also determine if the industries require regulatory control. The gamma ray exposure at four timber industries measured using an exposure meter were converted to effective dose and compared with the public and occupational values. The evaluated effective dose values in the timber industries were below public and occupational exposure limits and may not necessarily result in any radiological health hazard. Therefore, they may not require regulatory control.

Baseline survey of level of quality control in medical radiology in Cross River State, Nigeria

Baseline survey of level of quality control in medical radiology in Cross River State, Nigeria Quality control (QC) in radiology is meant to ensure that accurate diagnoses are obtained with radiation doses kept as low as reasonably achievable. It is also a fundamental requirement by the Regulatory Authorities in issuing operational license to operators of radiology facilities. In Nigeria, QC issues in Radiation Medicine have recently been introduced and are being enforced by the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA). The level of QC practice in the radiology facilities in Cross River State, Nigeria was evaluated to obtain baseline information that could be relied on in the future to determine the level of improvement. It was observed that radiology practitioners appreciate QC and its importance in their practice, the present low level of its implementation notwithstanding.

Challenges in setting up quality control in diagnostic radiology facilities in Nigeria

BACKGROUND The perception of quality control (QC) implementation by personnel in diagnostic radiology facilities can affect service delivery and deprive the facilities of the benefits associated with QC implementation. The responses by personnel working in diagnostic radiology facilities in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, concerning the implementation of quality control in diagnostic radiology has been assessed in order to ascertain their perception of QC implementation. METHOD A total of thirty eight (38) radiology personnel from twenty radiology facilities took part in the study that was conducted using a twenty item questionnaire that was initially tested for reliability. RESULT Responses from the surveyed personnel showed a positive perception for some QC items and a seeming lack of interest in some other items. This situation may be due to the perceived lack of interest and lack of cooperation from management of their facilities. The personnel also felt that they did not have sufficient training to implement QC and that QC results were difficult to analyse.