Radiation dose in premature neonates undergoing radiography examinations in intensive care units

Background: evaluation of x-ray exposure biological effects in neonates are more important due to high radiosensitivity. this study aimed to evaluate the radiation doses of neonates undergoing x- ray radiography using portal machine in intensive care units (nicus). materials and methods: we analyzed dose area product (dap) values among 105 neonates with a gestational age less than 37 weeks admitted at our hospitals between 2021 and 2022. the number of radiographs was 154. dap values were measured by dap meter and compared in three category of weight (extremely low weight, low weight and normal weight) in two commonly radiographies (chest and abdomen). results: dap values ranged from 3.21 ± 0.1 to 5.65 ± 2.11 mgy.cm2 and from 2.11 ± 1.98 to 4.38 ± 0.75 mgy.cm2 for patient weight from 920 to 2200 gr in chest and abdomen radiography respectively. these values were higher than the international criteria, standards in some cases. high significantly correlation was shown between technical settings of radiography (kv, ctp, field size) and dap (p < 0.05 for all). conclusions: it is recommended to use the proper collimation, kilovoltage and current time product during radiography of premature neonates to optimize patient protection.