Research Article
Evaluation of Mean Glandular Dose during Diagnostic Mammography Examination for Detection of Breast Pathology, in Ethiopia
| Seife Teferi Dellie1*, A. Durga Prasada Rao2, Daniel Admassie3 and Atnatiwos Zeleke Meshesha4 | |
| 1Department of Radiology, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia | |
| 2Department of Nuclear Physics, College of Science and Technology, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, India | |
| 3Department of Radiology, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia | |
| 4Acting Director for Ethiopian Radiation Authority, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | |
| Corresponding Author : | Seife Teferi Dellie Medical Physicists, Department of Radiology College of Health Sciences Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia E-mail: seifeteferi@yahoo.com |
| Received July 18, 2012; Accepted August 27, 2012; Published August 30, 2012 | |
| Citation: Dellie ST, Durga Prasada Rao A, Admassie D, Meshesha AZ (2012) Evaluation of Mean Glandular Dose during Diagnostic Mammography Examination for Detection of Breast Pathology, in Ethiopia. OMICS J Radiology. 1:109. doi: 10.4172/2167-7964.1000109 | |
| Copyright: © 2012 Dellie ST. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. | |
Abstract
Background: A mammography examination facilitates the early detection of breast cancer. However, the potential risk of radiation-induced carcinogenesis is also increased with such a procedure. Thus assessment of the breast dose is important.
Objectives: The objectives of this study were to investigate the techniques currently used for diagnostic
mammography in Ethiopia, thereby to estimate the mean glandular dose (MGD) for Ethiopian women.
Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on breast cancer patients between 40-64 years of age having compressed breast thickness (CBT) greater than 2 cm. Five mammographic units and 386 women having a total of 1463 mammograms were included in the study period from April 2011-February 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.The characteristics of the radiographic equipment and the exposure data of each patient were recorded using designed format. The MGD was calculated from the measured Entrance Surface Air Kerma (ESAK) using appropriate conversion coefficients. The obtained data were analyzed using statistical software.
Results: The range of CBT was 2.2-7.5 cm for CC mammograms with mean ± SD of 4.24 ± 1.1 cm and 2.3-8.0
cm in MLO projection with mean ± SD of 4.64 ± 1.1 cm. The average MGD per exposure was 2.57 ± 2.1 mGy while the respective averages separately for the CC and MLO projections were 2.58 ± 2.2 mGy and 2.57 ± 2.1 mGy, respectively.
Conclusion: The average MGD values recorded in this study were between the limiting value of the Institute of Physical Sciences in Medicine (2.0 mGy) and American College of Radiology (3.0 mGy) recommendation. These ensure that the mammography examination performed in Ethiopia was capable of achieving acceptable dose levels for patient safety.
