When interviewing female patients, what question should you always ask?

• A. If they are pregnant
• B. Their favorite color
• C. Their preferred nurse
• D. If they have allergies to latex

Answer: (A)

Protecting a developing fetus from exposure to ionizing radiation is the key idea here. Before performing radiographic procedures, you must determine whether the patient is pregnant because radiation can harm a fetus, especially early in pregnancy. Knowing pregnancy status guides your exam justification, helps you optimize technique to minimize dose, and indicates whether an alternative imaging method should be used. If pregnancy is possible or confirmed, you may need to delay non-urgent imaging, use the lowest feasible dose, and consider modality changes (for example, ultrasound or MRI) when appropriate. While other questions can be part of a general intake, they do not directly impact safety and imaging decisions in the same critical way.