Establishing diagnostic reference levels in interventional radiology: a Moroccan single-center study

Interventional radiology (IR) is a key diagnostic tool but involves significant radiation exposure. This study intends to determine the local Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRL) for Interventional Radiology in a Moroccan university Hospital. A retrospective review of 220 procedures was performed, including Lower Limb Angiography (LLA), Cerebral Angiography (CA), Central Venous Access Device (CVAD) placement, and Pacemaker Implantation (PM). The 3rd quartile DAP values were as follows: LLA: 107.98 Gy·cm2, CA: 232.18 Gy·cm2, CVAD: 2.26 Gy·cm2 and PM: 27.10 Gy·cm2. The results of the study show that local DRLs are greater than the published DRLs, indicating that there is poor management and optimization of the radiation dose. This work forms the preliminary groundwork to determine the national benchmarks of DRLs for the studied procedures and improve the radiation protection standards in the country.