Cumulative Effective Dose from Medical Imaging in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic and relapsing disorders usually requiring numerous medical imaging. IBD patients might be exposed to a large dose of radiation. As a cumulative effective dose (CED) ≥ 50 mSv is considered significant for stochastic risks of cancer, it is important to monitor the radiation exposure of IBD patients. In the present work, we aimed to quantify the mean CED in IBD patients and identify factors associated with exposure to high doses of diagnostic radiation. A retrospective chart view of patients with IBD hospitalized between 2015 and 2019 was performed. A total of 65 patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and 98 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) were selected. Of all imaging studies performed, 73% were with doses of ionizing radiation. Mean CED (SD) amounted to 19.20 (15.64) millisieverts (mSv) and 6.66 (12.39) mSv, respectively, in patients with CD and UC (p < 0.00001). Only 1.84% of the patients received CED ≥ 50 mSv. We identified three factors associated with CED in the IBD patients: number of surgical procedures, and number and length of hospitalization. CD patients with strictures or penetrating disease and UC patients with extensive colitis were more likely to receive higher radiation doses.

Radiation Exposure among Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Single-Medical-Center Retrospective Analysis in Taiwan

“…Our study was the first to investigate the pattern of radiation exposure among Taiwanese IBD patients, and the findings were consistent with reports from the Western population [ 3 , 7 ]. Patients with CD are more complicated than those with UC and have higher biological or immunosuppressive therapy rates.…”

“…Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), is chronic, fluctuating, and relapsing. Due to the complexity of the disease and complications such as strictures, fistulas, or perforations, medical image studies such as computed tomography are usually required to diagnose the disease and manage the complications [ 1 , 2 , 3 ].…”