Effects of Ionizing Radiation on Medical Personnel and its Control in Clinical Practice

Abstract

Ionizing radiation (IR) has been used for more than a century in clinical practice. It forms the basis for diagnostic and preventive radiology. However, medical professionals who work under constant radiation are at huge risk of developing different types of chronic or acute diseases such as malignant tumors, chronic dermatitis, hyperthyroidism, etc.  Depending on clinical practice, nurses are at higher risk of being influenced by ionizing radiation, caused by their specific job of being close to the patients who are under performing of some diagnostic or therapeutic radiological procedures. By the influence of constant ionizing radiation, at the expense of oxidation, the structure of DNA damages, which can cause carcinogenesis, chromosome instability etc. Historically, control of the effects of  IR started at the beginning of the 20th century when the impact of exposure was more harmful.  Nowadays, the world’s leading countries as well as the Republic of Georgia have the appropriate legislation that obligates hospitals to create safe working space for employees, and medical professionals to follow all guidelines to protect each other from exposure effects. Despite that fact, how the control of low-dose constant radiation performs is questionable. This opinion is proven by some official statistical data about radiation-caused diagnoses in medical professionals. Despite the revolutionary development of radiology through the past century, ionizing radiation effects on medical professionals remain one of the biggest problems and require specific attention.