[ RadSafe ] I-131 Pt and concerns

Wed Jan 4 19:01:35 CST 2012

Although I do not personally agree with everything in these guidelines from the American Thyroid Association, there is a wealth of information herein.  See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21417738.

Barry A. Siegel, M.D.
Professor of Radiology and Medicine
Director, Division of Nuclear Medicine
Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Washington University School of Medicine
510 S. Kingshighway Blvd.
St. Louis, MO  63110
TEL:  (314) 362-2809
FAX: (314) 362-2806
E-Mail:  siegelb at mir.wustl.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Brennan, Mike (DOH)
Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 4:54 PM
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) MailingList
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] I-131 Pt and concerns

I completely defer, especially as you are a doctor, and could no doubt
play one on TV.

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Carol Marcus
Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 2:50 PM
To: radsafe at agni.phys.iit.edu
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] I-131 Pt and concerns

Dear Mike et al.:

If she is breastfeeding she should NOT pump and store.  She should not
be treated until she has stopped breastfeeding and dried up (2 or 3
weeks).  No woman should ever get I-131 in any form or amount when she
is actively breastfeeding.

Carol S. Marcus, Ph.D., M.D.

On 1/4/2012 10:53 AM, Brennan, Mike (DOH) wrote:
> I am not a doctor, and do not play a doctor on TV.  I am certainly not
> offering medical advice.  There are a couple of reasonable radiation
> protection driven actions that make sense.
>
> If she is breast feeding, she should pump and store, and not breast
feed
> her baby for some period of time after the procedure (her radiologist
> should be able to tell her how long).
>
> Shower frequently to remove iodine that expresses on her skin.
>
> Laundering clothing should be adequate to remove the iodine from the
> clothing, as iodine is highly soluble in water.
>
> For the first several days after the procedure, she should avoid
> skin-to-skin contact, not just with her baby, but with other members
of
> the family.  An impressive amount of iodine can cross over to other
> people.  When she holds her baby, a couple layers of blanketing should
> do, and as I recall the half-life of a baby blanket between coming in
> contact with the baby and needing to be changed because something got
on
> it is in the minutes, or hours at most.
>
> The best advice still comes from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the
> Universe": "Don't panic!"
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
> [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Rees, Brian
G
> Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 10:32 AM
> To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing
List
> Subject: [ RadSafe ] I-131 Pt and concerns
>
> I have a friend, who has a friend that will soon be undergoing I-131
> therapy for a metastasized thyroid Ca.  The Pt is a new mother, and
went
> to the www to read about I-131, radiation, etc., and is now convinced
> she needs to throw away her used clothing, sleep in a different part
of
> the house (the basement), and not have any contact with her baby for a
> month (among other things)... hopefully she isn't buying over-priced
> vitamins... but anyway...
>
> I did go through the archives, but haven't found any what I would
> consider to be good, authoritative and informative sources of
> information regarding post-therapy care and precautions, but don't
have
> time to go through all the archives either (!).  Recommendations?
>
> I don't know how much activity they are planning to administer
(assuming
> 100-200 mCi or so), or other details (she's a friend of a friend...),
> but one thing she is particularly concerned about is holding her baby
at
> some point in an infant carrier (the kind that holds the baby against
> the chest).  Other than making all kinds of assumptions myself, is
there
> an accessible program that I could use to calculate exposures for
after
> a week, 2 weeks, etc., to help inform the mother of what doses would
be,
> rather than having her full of fear?
>
> Yes, I know it's to help the mother, and that an infant thyroid is
> vulnerable, and that her MD should be making recommendations, and that
> I'm not an MD, etc., but I sure hate to see a distorted view taken of
> the potential risks from this procedure.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Brian Rees, NRRPT, CHP
>
>
>
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