Answer to Question #12524 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Category: Pregnancy and Radiation

The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field:

Q

I am a nurse and I am also pregnant. My patient had a portable chest x ray at the bedside. I entered his room immediately after the radiology technologist walked out of the room with the machine. I was not in the room when he had the actual chest x ray, but entered it right after the test had been completed. Is my baby at risk for any scattered radiation that could have remained in the patient’s room?

A

No, there is no remaining radiation in the room once the x-ray beam has been shut off. If the operator was leaving with the unit when you entered, then the beam was not on. 

Your baby is not at any risk from you walking in the room after the x ray of the patient was completed.

Kelly Classic
Certified Medical Health Physicist

Answer posted on 6 July 2018. The information posted on this web page is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may affect the applicability of concepts, materials, and information described herein. The information provided is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be relied upon in the absence of such professional advice. To the best of our knowledge, answers are correct at the time they are posted. Be advised that over time, requirements could change, new data could be made available, and Internet links could change, affecting the correctness of the answers. Answers are the professional opinions of the expert responding to each question; they do not necessarily represent the position of the Health Physics Society.