title: Management of ionizing radiation injuries and illnesses, part 4: acute radiation syndrome.
abstract: To provide proper medical care for patients after a radiation incident, it is necessary to make the correct diagnosis in a timely manner and to ascertain the relative magnitude of the incident. The present article addresses the clinical diagnosis and management of high-dose radiation injuries and illnesses in the first 24 to 72 hours after a radiologic or nuclear incident. To evaluate the magnitude of a high-dose incident, it is important for the health physicist, physician, and radiobiologist to work together and to assess many variables, including medical history and physical examination results; the timing of prodromal signs and symptoms (eg, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, transient incapacitation, hypotension, and other signs and symptoms suggestive of high-level exposure); and the incident history, including system geometry, source-patient distance, and the suspected radiation dose distribution.
authors.affiliation: From the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (Drs Christensen, Iddins, and Goans) and the National Security and Emergency Management Programs (Mr Glassman) at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education in Tennessee; the Division of Emergency Medicine at Einstein Medical Center Elkins Park and the Philadelphia University Disaster Medicine and Management Master's Program, both in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Dr Parrillo); and the MJW Corporation in Amherst, New York (Dr Goans).
authors.forename: Doran M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.affiliation: From the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (Drs Christensen, Iddins, and Goans) and the National Security and Emergency Management Programs (Mr Glassman) at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education in Tennessee; the Division of Emergency Medicine at Einstein Medical Center Elkins Park and the Philadelphia University Disaster Medicine and Management Master's Program, both in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Dr Parrillo); and the MJW Corporation in Amherst, New York (Dr Goans).
authors.forename: Carol J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Iddins
authors.affiliation: From the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (Drs Christensen, Iddins, and Goans) and the National Security and Emergency Management Programs (Mr Glassman) at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education in Tennessee; the Division of Emergency Medicine at Einstein Medical Center Elkins Park and the Philadelphia University Disaster Medicine and Management Master's Program, both in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Dr Parrillo); and the MJW Corporation in Amherst, New York (Dr Goans).
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Parrillo
authors.affiliation: From the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (Drs Christensen, Iddins, and Goans) and the National Security and Emergency Management Programs (Mr Glassman) at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education in Tennessee; the Division of Emergency Medicine at Einstein Medical Center Elkins Park and the Philadelphia University Disaster Medicine and Management Master's Program, both in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Dr Parrillo); and the MJW Corporation in Amherst, New York (Dr Goans) erik.glassman@orise.orau.gov.
authors.forename: Erik S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Glassman
authors.affiliation: From the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (Drs Christensen, Iddins, and Goans) and the National Security and Emergency Management Programs (Mr Glassman) at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education in Tennessee; the Division of Emergency Medicine at Einstein Medical Center Elkins Park and the Philadelphia University Disaster Medicine and Management Master's Program, both in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Dr Parrillo); and the MJW Corporation in Amherst, New York (Dr Goans).
authors.forename: Ronald E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Goans
mesh_terms: D054508:Acute Radiation Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011839:Radiation, Ionizing; D011874:Radiometry; D012720:Severity of Illness Index