What's New?
.	NRC Chairman Resigns
.	NAS Report on Future Workforce Needs
.	Hodes Award Nominations Request
.	Radiation Risks and Protective Actions
.	June Journal
.	IAEA Conference - Rad Protection in Medicine
.	HPS Mentoring Program Update
.	New Low-Level Waste Site Operational
.	May Newsletter
.	America's Nuclear Future Report

Upcoming Events
.	Canadian Radiation Protection Association Annual Meeting 27-30 May 2012 Halifax, Nova Scotia
.	ACS Undergrad Summer Schools 10 June - 20 July 2012
.	NRC Meeting Webcasts May-June 2012
.	57th Annual HPS Meeting 22-26 July 2012 Sacramento, CA
.	37th Annual Conference of the Australasian Radiation Protection Society (ARPS) 14-17 Oct 2012 Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour
.	International Conference on Radiation Shielding 2-7 Nov 2012 Nara, Japan

24 May 2012

Answer to Question #4552 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Category: Pregnancy and Radiation — Guidance and policy

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

A young female patient comes into radiology as an out-patient for an obstruction series. The patient states that she could be pregnant. No pregnancy test has been done. Her doctor's office is closed and there is no supervisor on duty. How should I proceed?

Excellent question—probably a situation that occurs more frequently than we care to admit. She needs to consult with either her doctor or a radiologist at your organization to determine if it is safe to proceed unless she is at significant risk (e.g., life threatening) if the obstruction series is not performed. If you are an x-ray technologist (versus a physician), you put yourself at legal risk even if she gives you a verbal okay. Although it is unlikely that the radiation exposure from an obstruction series would cause any harm to the embryo, the patient needs to seek physician advice regarding her potential pregnancy.

Kelly Classic
Certified Medical Health Physicist

Answer posted on 13 June 2005. The information and material posted on this website is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may alter the concepts and applications of 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 specific to whatever facts and circumstances are presented in any given situation. Answers are correct at the time they are posted on the Website. Be advised that over time, some requirements could change, new data could be made available, or Internet links could change. For answers that have been posted for several months or longer, please check the current status of the posted information prior to using the responses for specific applications.