The radioprotective effect of the Cathpax® AIR cabin during interventional cardiology procedures.

Gutierrez-Barrios, Alejandro; Angulo-Pain, Esther; Noval-Morillas, Inmaculada; Cañadas-Pruaño, Dolores; de la Lastra, Inara Alarcon; Gheorghe, Livia; Zayas-Rueda, Ricardo; Calle-Perez, German; Vázquez-García, Rafael

BACKGROUND The use of ionizing radiation during cardiac catheterization interventions adversely impacts the medical staff. Traditional radiation protection equipment is only partially effective. The Cathpax® radiation protection cabin (RPC) has proven to significantly reduce radiation exposure in electrophysiological and neuroradiology interventions. Our objective was to analyze whether the Cathpax® RPC reduces radiation dose in coronary and cardiac structural interventions in unselected real-world procedures. METHODS AND RESULTS In this nonrandomized all-comers prospective study, 119 consecutive cardiac interventional procedures were alternatively divided into two groups: the RPC group (n = 59) and the non-RPC group (n = 60). No significant changes in the characteristics of patients and procedures, average contrast volume, air kerma (AK), dose area-product (DAP) and fluoroscopy time between both groups were apparent. In the RPC group, the first-operator relative radiation exposure was reduced by 78% at the chest and by 70% at the wrist. This effect was consistent during different types of procedures including complex percutaneous interventions and structural procedures. CONCLUSIONS Our study demonstrates, for the first time, that the Cathpax® cabin significantly and efficiently reduces relative operator radiation exposure during different types of interventional procedures, confirming its feasibility in a real-world setting.