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Cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is used to assess coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with low-to-intermediate pretest probability and to simultaneously evaluate CAD, pulmonary embolism, and thoracic aortic dissection in emergency department patients with chest pain. Researchers estimated radiation dosage from CCTA in a cross-sectional, international observational study of 1965 patients who underwent CCTA at 21 university hospitals and 29 community hospitals in 2007.
Sixty-four-slice scanners were used in 96% of patients and 16-slice scanners in 4%. The estimated radiation dose at the various hospital sites ranged from 5 to 30 mSv. The median dose of 12 mSv is comparable to 600 chest x-rays or 1.2 times the dose from an …