title: Radioiodine therapy: care of the helpless patient and handling of the radioactive corpse.
abstract: Nurses caring for a helpless patient following a nominal 800 MBq administration of radioiodine were concerned about their radiation dose. Using published data, a nurse could receive an estimated 650 microSv per shift. A regime to restrict their dose was planned using a 500 microSv dose constraint. Thermoluminescent dosimeters indicated a maximum whole-body effective dose of 250 microSv. Three days post 131I administration the patient died (estimated activity in the body 400 MBq). A minimum delay of two weeks was advised prior to a post-mortem. Special precautions were issued to minimise contamination. Dose rates (microSv h(-1)), measured one day after the patient died, at the level of the thyroid, chest and bladder at 0.01 m from the corpse were 1800, 290 and 73 respectively. At 1.0 m the dose rate was 26 microSv h(-1) at all levels. The pathologist was estimated to have received a maximum whole-body dose of 400 microSv during the post-mortem. Contamination measurements (Bq cm(-2)) made following the post-mortem were as follows: pathologist's hands 5, clothes 0, towels 1.8, saw 5, instruments 0.5, plastic sheet 0.8, scales 0.4 and floors/walls 1.1. These data indicate that with appropriate radiation protection guidelines, staff can be reassured that their doses in these circumstances are very low.
authors.affiliation: Medical Physics Department, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, UK. claire.greaves@sth.nhs.uk
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Greaves
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tindale
mesh_terms: D002102:Cadaver; D006801:Humans; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000379:methods*; D011874:Radiometry; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000451:nursing / Q000532:radiotherapy
chemical_list: D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes