In pediatric radiology, radiological protection is
of vital importance due to the great radio-sensitivity of body tissues
in childhood, which can come to present stochastic effects as children
have a longer life expectancy. The objective of this research is
to establish diagnostic reference levels in chest exam pediatric
patients. The study, carried out in one of the largest pediatric
centers of the city of Medellin, the capital of the Department of
Antioquia, consisted of the calculation of the Entrance Skin Dose
(ESD) for a sample of 814 chest radiographic studies in the anteroposterior
(AP) and left lateral (L LAT) projections, and it was compared with
the doses obtained with the computational program PCXMC 2.0. For
the estimate of the Entrance Skin Dose, data were collected from the
exams, including the size of the radiation field, mAs and kVp. The
ESD in chest exams for 5-year-old children was the only one that
exceeded the international reference levels, giving evidence of
the need to optimize the techniques used in this type of study in
the institution under evaluation.