Purpose or Case Report: Following the ALARA principle, the amount of radiation exposure to those working with x ray technology should be minimized as much as possible. The aim of this study was to access the prevalence of extraneous adult finger(s) in portable NICU chest x ray studies.
Methods & Materials: Retrospective review of 100 portable NICU chest x ray studies was performed after REB approval. Studies available from January 2012 to May 2012 were assessed. The studies were classified as positive or negative for the presence of extraneous adult fingers.
Results: 73/100 were one view studies and 27/100 two view studies making a total of 127 views reviewed. 10/127 (7.9%) views or 10/100 (10%) studies had adult fingers in the films.
Conclusions: The prevalence of 10% of adult fingers in NICU chest films is somewhat high compared to the literature. A group from University of Saskatoon has published 57% reduction in their initial prevalence of 13% after educational activities with hospital staff. We attempt to decrease our rate with similar methodology. Educational material is being created and formal training with review sessions are being organized for radiology and NICU staff. We expect to publish our preliminary results on the second phase of this project after implementation of the educational material in the department. Our goal is to decrease our rate in at least 57%.