The ideal time to schedule radiologic procedures in women of reproductive age is during the first 10 days of the menstrual cycle, if possible. At the time of the radiologic examination, all the women should be asked about their LMP and in the case of any doubt, the pregnancy test should be performed. Occasionally diagnostic imaging is necessary during pregnancy because of some unrelated medical problem.
Safety of the fetus is of primary concern. Basics of radiation: The absorbed dose of radiation is the amount of energy deposited per kilogram of tissue and is measured in "rads." One rad is the energy transfer of 100 ergs per gram of any absorbing material. The following relationships apply to diagnostic X-rays in soft tissue 1 rad = 0.01 gray (Gy) = 0.01 sievert (Sv) = 1 rem (roentgen-equivalent-man) Fetal effect: Owing to the paucity of studies in a human being, we tend to rely only on…
