Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the radiation protection practices of medical doctors of surgical and interventional specialties in different healthcare sectors of Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study of medical doctors in Saudi Arabia who utilize radiation to perform interventional procedures and surgical operations was conducted. Data were gathered about the basic demographic background of the respondents, their daily application of radiation protection, and variations among different specialties and institutions regarding radiation protection practices. A total of 182 responses were received from different specialties, including interventional radiology (22%), interventional cardiology (16.5%), orthopedic surgery (14.8%), urology (14.3%), and diagnostic radiology (12.1%). Responses were received from different healthcare sectors, including the Ministry of Health (47%), private sector (26%), and university hospitals (18%). Only 59% of the respondents reported applying the As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) principle of radiation protection. The specialties with the highest reported lack of the ALARA principle application were orthopedic surgery (89%), urology (69%) and endoscopy (57%). The highest reported non-adherence to the ALARA principle was in the Ministry of Defense hospitals (50%), private hospitals (44%) and Ministry of Health hospitals (43%). The use of a personal dosimeter was reported by 58% of the respondents and only 42% reported having training in radiation protection. The respondents reported a lack of regular checking of x-ray machines (28%) and protection aprons (40%), non-availability of radiation protection guidelines (48%), and a lack of policies for radiation dose monitoring (27%) in their institutions. It was concluded that the compliance with radiation protection practices was variable and generally poor among different specialties and healthcare sectors in Saudi Arabia. Similar poor practices were reported in the international literature of different countries. The concerned authorities worldwide are advised to take further actions in this regard.