Springer Verlag, European Radiology, 1(24), p. 169-175
DOI: 10.1007/s00330-013-2994-8
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Objective: To report short- and long-term effects of an audit process intended to optimise the radiation dose from multi-detector row computed tomography (MDCT). Methods: A survey of radiation dose from all eight MDCT departments in the state of Luxembourg performed in 2007 served as baseline, and involved the most frequently imaged regions (head, sinus, cervical spine, thorax, abdomen, and lumbar spine). CT dose index volume (CTDIvol), dose-length product per acquisition (DLP/acq), and DLP per examination (DLP/exa) were recorded, and their mean, median, 25th and 75th percentiles compared. In 2008, an audit conducted in each department helped to optimise doses. In 2009 and 2010, two further surveys evaluated the audit's impact on the dose delivered. Results: Between 2007 and 2009, DLP/exa significantly decreased by 32-69% for all regions (P