Comparison of the effect of radiation exposure from dual-energy CT versus single-energy CT on double-strand breaks at CT pulmonary angiography

• Published in: European journal of radiology Vol. 101; pp. 92 - 96
• Main Authors: Tao, Shu Min, Li, Xie, Schoepf, U. Joseph, Nance, John W., Jacobs, Brian E., Zhou, Chang Sheng, Gu, Hai Feng, Lu, Meng Jie, Lu, Guang Ming, Zhang, Long Jiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier B.V 01.04.2018
• Subjects: Biological damage; Computed Tomography Angiography - statistics & numerical data; CT pulmonary angiography; DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded - radiation effects; Double-strand breaks; Dual-source CT; Female; Humans; Lung - blood supply; Lung - diagnostic imaging; Lymphocytes - radiation effects; Male; Middle Aged; Radiation Dosage; Radiation dose; Radiation Exposure; Radiography, Dual-Energy Scanned Projection - statistics & numerical data; DSBs; Double-strand breaks; Radiation dose; CTDIvol; PE; CT pulmonary angiography; Dual-source CT; DLP; CTPA; Biological damage; BMI; ED
• ISSN: 0720-048X; 1872-7727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2018.02.002

•DSBs foci levels per cell increased significantly after CT pulmonary angiography.•Dual-source CTPA do not increase DSBs levels compared to single-source CTPA.•80/Sn140 kVp dual-energy CT showed a lower DLP than single-energy CT. To compare the effect of dual-source dual-energy CT versus single-energy CT on DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in blood lymphocytes at CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA). Sixty-two patients underwent either dual-energy CTPA (Group 1: n = 21, 80/Sn140 kVp, 89/38 mAs; Group 2: n = 20, 100/Sn140 kVp, 89/76 mAs) or single-energy CTPA (Group 3: n = 21, 120 kVp, 110 mAs). Blood samples were obtained before and 5 min after CTPA. DSBs were assessed with fluorescence microscopy and Kruskal-Walls tests were used to compare DSBs levels among groups. Volume CT dose index (CTDIvol), dose length product (DLP) and organ radiation dose were compared using ANOVA. There were increased excess DSB foci per lymphocyte 5 min after CTPA examinations in three groups (Group 1: P = .001; Group 2: P = .001; Group 3: P = .006). There were no differences among groups regarding excess DSB foci/cell and percentage of excess DSBs (Group 1, 23%; Group 2, 24%; Group 3, 20%; P = .932). CTDIvol, DLP and organ radiation dose in Group 1 were the lowest among the groups (all P < .001). DSB is increased following dual-source and single-source CTPA, while dual-source dual-energy CT protocols do not increase the estimated radiation dose and also do not result in a higher incidence of DNA DSBs in patients undergoing CTPA.