Home > Quick Reference > Levels of radiation from imaging

Levels of radiation from imaging

Team DFTB

Written on 29/06/2021
, Last updated 14/10/2021

Cite this article as:

Team DFTB . Levels of radiation from imaging, Don't Forget the Bubbles, 2021. Available at: https://doi.org/10.31440/DFTB.1074

SHARE VIA:

	Typical Effective Dose (mSv)	Number of chest X-rays (PA film) for Equivalent Effective Dose	Time Period for Equivalent Effective Dose from Natural Background Radiation
Abdo CT	8	400	2.7 years
Chest CT	5	250	1.7 years
Head CT	2	100	243 days
Barium enema	8	400	2.7 years
Upper GI	6	300	2 years
IVU	3	150	1 year
Lumbar spine	1.5	75	182 days
Skull x-ray	0.1	5	12 days
Chest x-ray (PA film)	0.02	1	2.4 days
Airline flight	0.02	1	2.4 days

Average effective dose in millisieverts (mSv) as compiled by Fred A. Mettler, Jr., et al., “Effective Doses in Radiology and Diagnostic Nuclear Medicine: A Catalog,” Radiology Vol. 248, No. 1, pp. 254-263, July 2008.
Based on the assumption of an average “effective dose” from chest x ray (PA film) of 0.02 mSv.
Based on the assumption of an average “effective dose” from natural background radiation of 3 mSv per year.

References

Radiation Emitting Products, US Food and Drug Administration, accessed online

X-ray Risk, accessed online

View more articles

KEEP READING

High flow therapy – when and how?

Padmanabhan Ramnarayan

Written on 19/02/2021
, Last updated 15/09/2021

Chest compressions in traumatic cardiac arrest

Karl Kavanagh and Nuala Quinn

Written on 11/01/2021
, Last updated 24/10/2021

Searching for sepsis

Anna Peters

Written on 14/12/2020
, Last updated 27/06/2021

The missing link? Children and transmission of SARS-CoV-2

Alasdair Munro, Damian Roland

Written on 05/05/2020
, Last updated 17/09/2021

Don’t Forget the Brain Busters – Round 2

Team DFTB

Written on 22/04/2020
, Last updated 27/06/2021

An evidence summary of Paediatric COVID-19 literature

Alison Boast, Alasdair Munro + Henry Goldstein

Written on 03/04/2020
, Last updated 16/08/2021

Urticaria

Clementine David

Written on 28/01/2019
, Last updated 22/05/2022

The fidget spinner craze – the good, the bad and the ugly

Mary Hardimon

Written on 08/07/2017
, Last updated 27/06/2021

Parenteral Nutrition

Li-Zsa Tan

Written on 07/03/2014
, Last updated 27/06/2021

The Bubbles

ABOUT US
SKIN DEEP
DFTB DIGITAL
PRIVACY AND COOKIE POLICIES
LEGAL DISCLAIMER

Follow Us

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
Youtube
Listen

Subscribe to DFTB

Enter your e-mail address to keep up to date with everything we are doing.

© 2022 Don't Forget the Bubbles | ISSN 2754-5407