Digital Radiography Repeat Rate and Associated Factors in Referral Hospitals, Sari, Iran 2017

Background and purpose: The radiographic imaging repeat rate (RR) in digital and conventional imaging systems is considered as a quality control indicator. RR increases the unnecessary patient and staff dose, prevents the loss of resources and depreciation of systems and increases the time for radiographic services. In this study, digital radiographic RR and its related factors were investigated. Materials and methods: In current study, 1724 radiographic exposures from two referral hospitals in Sari, Iran were investigated (in 2017). The type of radiographic procedure, the number of repetitive images, and the factors leading to repetition were recorded, prospectively. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. Results: The mean of RR in the hospitals was 8.7%. The highest repeat rates were associated with the performance of staff (69.4%), mainly caused by the lack of precision in the alignment of the center of digital panel and central x-ray (18.7%). Other factors responsible for RR were as follows: the X-ray machine and digital panels (10.4%), patients (16.1%), and others (4.1%). Conclusion: Continuous training of staff, highly qualified instructors, using sensors in the x-ray collimator angle to compensate the staff errors, fixed positioning of patients, and relaxed atmosphere can significantly reduce the RR.