Assessment of Hematological Parameters among Medical Radiographers at Governmental Hospitals, Gaza Strip

Background: Medical radiographers are known to be exposed to long term and chronic low doses of ionizing radiation. The biological effects of chronic low-doses radiation on human health are complex and have not been well established. Objective: To assess the effects of ionizing radiation on the hematological parameters of medical radiographers at governmental hospitals-Gaza Governorates, Palestine. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at the six main governmental hospitals. A total of 54 healthy medical radiographers with at least 5 years of experience were compared with 59 healthy participants as control group. The study group matched with controls in age, gender, years of experience, and smoking status. Hematological parameters were observed by ABX Micros 60 analyzer. The statistical analysis was done by using Student’s t test and one way ANOVA test. Results: The study reported that the basic hematological parameters including the mean value of red blood cells (P=0.611), white blood cells (P=0.942), and platelets level (P=0.28) did not show any statistical significant differences between the compared groups. Low and high disturbance in the mean values of hematocrit and corpuscular hemoglobin in some medical radiographers, but their means did not reach the statistical significant levels. No statistical significant differences was found between the duration of exposure and hematological parameters of medical radiographers. Conclusion: It concluded that in addition to the safety and protective measures that have adopted in different radiology departments, we recommended using appropriate personal protective measures for medical radiographers (i.e., periodic medical surveillance including the hematological parameters). Furthermore, performing a research projects on radiation protection and hazards to prevent irreversible damages.