Fluoroscopy is one of the medical imaging modalities used by physicians to image the internal organs of the body; during this imaging process, patients may be exposed to high radiation doses. These high exposure rates can lead to radiation-induced cancer risks in patients. This study calculated the dose area product (DAP) of female patients, determined the organ and effective organ doses received by the patients, and assessed the risk of radiation-induced cancer due to radiation exposure at a government-owned hospital in Ondo State, South West Nigeria. These were with a view to provide information on dose limit for best practices in fluoroscopy examination and reduce the risk of radiation-induced cancer to these patients. The data for this study were obtained from the Radiology Department, Trauma and Surgical Centre, Ondo State. The procedures studied in this work were predominately orthopedic procedures such as abdominopelvic surgery,acetabular reconstruction, conventional/CT myelogram, barium enema, HSG, and humeral surgery/ext. fixation. X-ray exposure parameters were obtained for female patients that underwent fluoroscopic examination. The radiation output (beam quality) of the machine was obtained and used to calculate patient exposure. DAP was calculated for each examination. Calculation of organs and effective doses for each patient was done using the Personal Computer X-ray Monte Carlo (PCXMC) software. Estimation of the risk of radiation-induced cancer was deduced from the value of effective dose to patients using PCXMC version 2.0. The effective dose (mSv) to patients ranged from 0.001 mSv to 3.253 mSv. The average effective dose was 0.359 mSv. The adolescents (0–15 years) had the highest mean effective dose of 0.704 mSv. Age 16–30 had the lowest mean effective dose of 0.029 mSv. The estimated risk to fatal cancer associated with exposure to radiation in this study was 235 ± 2 (per million patients).The study showed that the group with the highest risk of cancer was within the age group 0–15 years. This study concluded that the risk of radiation-induced cancer risk at the center,which was higher than recommended limits, requires an urgent need for standardization of procedures in fluoroscopy examinations. This can be achieved by employing a comprehensive quality control and assurance program, training of technicians, and x-ray equipment calibration in all radiology departments.
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