Objective:

Evaluate the most recent evidence about the relation between exposure to ionizing radiation and cataracts in interventional cardiology personnel.

Methods:

A bibliographic search was conducted of scientific articles published in the last 10 years in the databases Clinical key, EBSCO, Science Direct, LILACS and Pubmed; about observational analytical studies that support the association between cataracts and exposure to ionizing radiation in interventional cardiology staff.

Results:

By means of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 6 articles were selected, about studies performed among occupational active interventional cardiology personnel using the LOCS III and Merriam-Fotch scales to calculate corneal opacity. It was found that there is a statistically significant relation between exposure to ionizing radiation and the risk of cataracts.

Conclusions:

The results support the hypothesis that exposure to ionizing radiation could increase the risk of cataracts in interventional cardiology personnel. Further studies are needed to get a better understanding of this relation and to establish the limit dose. Use of radiation safety glasses and special protective equipment is recommended to reduce the ocular effects of radiation

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