[ RadSafe ] Errors expose patients to radiation

Tue Sep 27 12:23:38 CDT 2005

Howard,

I think you have a typo. 75 x 2 x 6 is 900.   Some therapy courses are 200 
rad to the tumor 5 times a week for 6 weeks.

Dale
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "howard long" <hflong at pacbell.net>
To: "John Jacobus" <crispy_bird at yahoo.com>; "Muckerheide, James" 
<jimm at WPI.EDU>; <M.Schouwenburg at TNW.TUDelft.NL>; <radsafe at radlab.nl>
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 10:05 AM
Subject: RE: [ RadSafe ] Errors expose patients to radiation

> Usual CT of chest gives 1 cSv (rad, rem).
> 75 rad 2x/wk for 6 weeks to abdomen is usual
> to treat abdominal cancer (4.000 rad)
>
> Howard Long
>
> John Jacobus <crispy_bird at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Jim,
> Medical exposures of 1 Sv are unusual, even in
> therapy. Biological response predicates the need to
> factionate doses. And, yes, the public dose limit is
> exclusive of medical irradiations.
>
> --- "Muckerheide, James" wrote:
>
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl
>> [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On
>> > Behalf Of John Jacobus
>> > Sent: Monday, September 26, 2005 9:06 AM
>>
>>
>> > Second, using the public limit of 1.0 mSv makes no
>> > sense. The public limit is from man-made souces
>> and
>> > is EXCLUSIVE of medical exposures.
>>
>> Of course, because my physiological response to 1 Sv
>> of medical exposure (or
>> is that just medical over-exposure?) is much less
>> than my response to 1 mSv
>> from "man-made" sources? (As though medical
>> exposure isn't?)
>>
>> Regards, Jim Muckerheide
>> =========================
>>
>> > Third, this is obviously a selected study of
>> reported
>> > incidences only.
>> >
>> > Note: Some people are annoyed by reports of
>> > "overexposures" to nuclear power workers. I have
>> the
>> > annoyance to patient overexposure reports.
>> >
>> > --- Marcel Schouwenburg
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> > > Received through another list (srp)
>> > >
>> > >
>> >
>>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> > > Sunday Herald reports Errors expose patients to
>> > > radiation
>> > >
>> > > http://www.sundayherald.com/51922
>> > >
>> > > MORE than 500 people have been accidentally
>> > > overexposed to radiation in
>> > > hospitals across Scotland in the past 10 years.
>> > > More than four-fifths of them were patients
>> having
>> > > X-rays, CAT
>> > > (computer-assisted tomography) scans or
>> radiation
>> > > therapy, while the rest
>> > > were hospital staff. The accidents were caused
>> by
>> > > human errors, procedural
>> > > mistakes, equipment failures and spillages.
>> > >
>> > > In a few cases, unborn babies were inadvertently
>> > > given large doses of
>> > > radiation far in excess of the safety limits. In
>> > > other instances, people
>> > > were wrongly X-rayed, given repeat scans or
>> badly
>> > > injected.
>> > >
>> > > Hospitals have also lost or mislaid radiation
>> > > sources . All sources are
>> > > meant to be secured to prevent them being stolen
>> by
>> > > terrorists and used in
>> > > "dirty bombs".
>> > >
>> > > The revelations, contained in a new NHS study,
>> have
>> > > worried politicians, who
>> > > are calling for action to cut the number of
>> > > accidents. The government's
>> > > radiation watchdog, the Health Physics Service,
>> says
>> > > it is important to keep
>> > > radiation doses as low as possible, especially
>> for
>> > > children and pregnant
>> > > women.
>> > >
>> > > Radiation is a common tool in medicine
>> throughout
>> > > the developed world.
>> > > X-rays and CAT scans help diagnose a wide range
>> of
>> > > health problems, while
>> > > radioactive chemicals are put in the body as
>> tracers
>> > > and used, externally
>> > > and internally, to destroy cancers. However, all
>> > > radiation is potentially
>> > > dangerous, and extra doses can increase the risk
>> of
>> > > cancer.
>> > >
>> > > Colin Martin, head of the Health Physics Service
>> for
>> > > NHS hospitals in the
>> > > west of Scotland, has analysed 606 incidents
>> > > reported since 1995.
>> > >
>> > > In 423 incidents patients were overexposed to
>> > > radiation, and in 114 cases
>> > > hospital staff were overexposed or contaminated.
>> The
>> > > commonest reason was
>> > > staff error, followed by equipment failure. In
>> more
>> > > than one in 10 cases the
>> > > wrong patient was scanned or treated . Sometimes
>> the
>> > > wrong part of the body
>> > > was X-rayed .
>> > >
>> > > Patients were also given repeat scans because
>> staff
>> > > forgot to change the
>> > > film, machines were left on or computers
>> crashed.
>> > > Staff were contaminated by
>> > > slips while giving injections, or by urine or
>> vomit
>> > > from radiotherapy
>> > > patients.
>> > >
>> > > In a third of the incidents the radiation dose
>> was
>> > > above the annual safety
>> > > limit for the public of one mSv (milliSievert).
>> In
>> > > half a dozen cases the
>> > > doses were more than 20 times in excess of the
>> > > limit. Four of the highest
>> > > exposures were to pregnant women.
>> > >
>> > > In most cases, patients were probably informed
>> about
>> > > the errors at the time.
>> > > Martin, who is based at Gartnavel Royal Hospital
>> in
>> > > Glasgow, pointed out
>> > > that the mistakes represented a very small
>> fraction
>> > > of the million or more
>> > > radiation procedures carried out in the west of
>> > > Scotland every year.
>> > >
>> > > "There is no reason to suspect that the number
>> of
>> > > radiation incidents in the
>> > > west of Scotland is different from that in other
>> > > parts of the UK," he told
>> > > the Sunday Herald.
>> > >
>> > > "By encouraging a more open reporting system,
>> the
>> > > Health Physics Service is
>> > > able to investigate the causes of incidents, so
>> that
>> > > procedures can be
>> > > improved. The risks of any health consequences
>> from
>> > > exposure to radiation at
>> > > these levels are very low."
>> > >
>> > > But Dr Eleanor Scott MSP, health speaker for the
>> > > Scottish Green Party,
>> > > stressed that "any unnecessary exposure to
>> radiation
>> > > should be avoided".
>> > >
>> > > The study is being published in next month's
>> British
>> > > Journal of Radiology.
>> > >
>> > > . . .
>> >
>> > +++++++++++++++++++
>> > "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never
>> tired anything new."
>> > -- Albert Einstein
>> >
>> > -- John
>> > John Jacobus, MS
>> > Certified Health Physicist
>> > e-mail: crispy_bird at yahoo.com
>> >
>> > __________________________________________________
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> === message truncated ===
>
>
> +++++++++++++++++++
> "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tired anything new."
> -- Albert Einstein
>
> -- John
> John Jacobus, MS
> Certified Health Physicist
> e-mail: crispy_bird at yahoo.com
>
>
>
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