Effective exposure dose to the population of the Gomel region from medical X-ray diagnosis before and in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic
A comparative analysis of the effective doses of patients in the Gomel region from medical X-ray diagnostics for 2015 and 2020 (the beginning of the coronovirus infection pandemic) was carried out. As a result of the comparative analysis, an increase in the number of chest computed tomography studies in 2020 compared to 2015 by 7,4 times was revealed, while the collective dose increased by 8,2 times. The collective dose of medical exposure to the population of the Gomel region in 2020 is 1,4 times higher than in 2015. Computed tomography made the largest contribution to the collective dose of patients in the Gomel region from X-ray diagnostic studies of the chest cavity in 2020 - 59%, which is 2,8 times higher than in 2015. The widespread introduction of chest X-ray and computed tomography in the diagnosis of COVID-19 has increased patient exposure by 40%.