Fluoroscopy - Risks

Risks

Because fluoroscopy involves the use of x-rays, a form of ionizing radiation, all fluoroscopic procedures pose a potential health risk to the patient. Radiation doses to the patient depend greatly on the size of the patient as well as length of the procedure, with typical skin dose rates quoted as 20–50 mGy/min. Exposure times vary depending on the procedure being performed, but procedure times up to 75 minutes have been documented. Because of the long length of some procedures, in addition to standard cancer-inducing stochastic radiation effects, deterministic radiation effects have also been observed ranging from mild erythema, equivalent of a sun burn, to more serious burns.

A study in 1994 of radiation induced skin injuries has been performed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) followed by an advisory to minimize further fluoroscopy-induced injuries. The problem of radiation injuries due to fluoroscopy has been further addressed in review articles in 2000 and 2010.

While deterministic radiation effects are a possibility, radiation burns are not typical of standard fluoroscopic procedures. Most procedures sufficiently long in duration to produce radiation burns are part of necessary life-saving operations.

X-ray image intensifiers generally have radiation-reducing systems such as pulsed rather than constant radiation, and last image hold, which "freezes" the screen and makes it available for examination without exposing the patient to unnecessary radiation.