• Xin Chen, Youdong Song, Zheng Li, Suming Luo, Baorong Yue, Hui Xu, Zhijian He, Zhinan Ren, Derong Xu, and Shugang Li.
• Department of Orthopedics, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing.
• World Neurosurg. 2018 Oct 1; 118: e43-e51.

ObjectiveTo introduce a method of accurately measuring the equivalent dose received by radiation-sensitive organs using the thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) and to provide reference values for future studies associated with radiation protection in patients undergoing lumbar spine surgeries.MethodsAfter careful selection and preparation, TLD chips were used to obtain measurements from the eyes, thyroid glands, breasts, and gonads of 20 patients undergoing lumbar spine surgeries. The results were obtained via air kerma conversion-related calculations.ResultsThe overall radiation exposures absorbed perioperatively by the eyes, thyroid glands, right breasts, left breasts, right ovaries, left ovaries, and testes were 0.41 ± 0.13, 1.43 ± 0.45, 6.95 ± 3.63, 9.50 ± 6.14, 29.86 ± 28.62, 23.47 ± 22.10, and 5.41 ± 1.86 mSv, respectively. A single computed tomography (CT) scan contributed to more than 75% of the overall dose received regardless of the position used.ConclusionsPatients received significantly higher radiation doses from CT scans than from regular digital radiograph examinations. These radiation doses were concentrated in the regional area of scanning. Our results indicate the necessity and benefits of radiation protection measures, especially for the organs researched herein, when patients undergoing lumbar surgeries require radiographic diagnostic examinations.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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