Increased Radiation Dose to Overweight and Obese Patients from Radiographic Examinations

Abstract

Effective doses from radiographic examinations in the extremely obese can exceed 100 mSv from only a small number of abdominal examinations and should be minimized to the extent possible and monitored. Exponential dose increases for increased subcutaneous fat thicknesses can be reduced substantially by positioning the patient so that the thinnest fat layer (anterior or posterior) is closest to the image receptor. Increasing the tube voltage also reduces the dose-but to a much smaller extent.