• Micaela V Yee, Rochelle A Barron, Tom A Knobloch, Umesh Pandey, Catherine Twyford, and Ross C Freebairn.
• Intensive Care Services, Hawke's Bay Hospital, Soldiers Memorial, Hastings, New Zealand.
• Eur J Emerg Med. 2012 Aug 1;19(4):231-4.

ObjectiveTo describe the cumulative effective dose of radiation that was received during the initial Emergency Department assessment and ICU stay of patients admitted with trauma, who required mechanical ventilation, during two time periods.MethodA retrospective analysis of radiological and clinical data, set in a regional nonurban ICU. Two cohorts (starting 1 January 2004 and 1 January 2009), each comprising 45 adult patients admitted with trauma who were mechanically ventilated in intensive care, were studied. Frequency and type of radiological examinations, demographic information, and clinical data were collated from the radiological database, hospital admission record and Australian Outcomes Research Tool for Intensive Care database. Cumulative effective doses were calculated and expressed as a total dose and average daily dose for each cohort.ResultsThe median cumulative effective dose per patient (in milliSieverts) increased from 34.59 [interquartile range (IQR) 9.08-43.91] in 2004 to 40.51 (IQR 22.01-48.87) in 2009, P=0.045. An increased number of computed tomography examinations per patient was also observed over the same interval from an average of 2.11 (median 2, IQR 1-3) in 2004 to an average of 2.62 (2, 2-4) in 2009, P=0.046.ConclusionThe radiation exposure of mechanically ventilated trauma patients in intensive care has increased over time. Radiation exposure should be prospectively monitored and staff should be aware of the increased risk resulting from this change in practice.

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