Health Technology



Health Technology

Introduction

Pregnancy is a very sensitive issue and it is important to take care of small things to avoid complex situations . Irresponsibility could lead to serious results. There are medicines and treatments that could also affect the patient significantly. In this paper, we will examine the effect of radiation on pregnant women and what are the precautions that must be kept in mind.

Discussion

A radiological examination in a pregnant patient may raise risks. Healthcare professionals should inform the patient about the risk associated with diagnostic procedures using ionizing radiation. The following points are worth noting:

•In the current state of knowledge, it is unlikely that exposure to ionizing radiation resulting from radiological causes deleterious effects in children, but the possibility of occurrence of radiation-induced effects can not be ruled out.

•The patient should be informed that a risk assessment was carried out, not because there is reason to believe that the risk is high in his situation, but because it is a normal precaution that every time a radiological examination is performed on a pregnant woman.

•The evaluation should be performed case by case basis depending on the gestational age at exposure and dose levels received by the fetus.

•A precise estimate of the dose to the fetus requires certain information about the radiology equipment, the type of examination performed, the morphology of the patient, ... However, the fetal dose values "types" can be used keeping in mind there may be a significant difference between the dose values "types" and the dose values estimated from the actual exposure conditions.

•The dose assessment can be performed by a medical physicist or by contacting the IRSN.

•After the evaluation, and depending on the situation, the physician, the patient and others concerned can then make an informed decision on the future course of pregnancy (Sage, 2012).

Rule of 10 Days

The "rule of 10 days" was introduced by the ICRP for women of child bearing age. It states that "whenever possible, radiological examinations should be performed within the first 10 days of the cycle." This rule was initially set at 14 days, but it was reduced to 10 to reflect the variability of the cycle in women. In most situations, it was demonstrated that strict application of the rule of 10 days was unnecessary and overly restrictive (Safety of pregnant workers, 1994).

When the number of cells of the embryo is small and there is yet no differentiation, the effect on these cells will lead to a spontaneous termination of the development or death of non-detectable embryo, the occurrence of malformation is unlikely or extremely rare. The phase of organogenesis starting between the third and fifth week of pregnancy, it is unlikely that early exposure to ionizing radiation induces malformations. The major risk is the early miscarriage if the exposure causes the death of the embryo (fetal dose> 100 mGy). It is on this basis it was suggested to abandon the "rule of 10 days" in favor of a "rule of ...