Re: Report Fetal Dose to NRC?

["J. J. Rozental" <josrozen@netmedia.net.il>]

At 10:37 AM 3/27/98 -0600, you wrote:
>Question for RadSafers:
>    In a case where a pregnant woman is administered a therapeutic dose
>of I-131, (pregnancy was not known at the time of the administration)
>have any of you reported the fetal dose to the NRC ?
>Are there any reporting requirements in a case like this?
>Thanks.
>Betty Schwab
>bschwab@hsc.vcu.edu
>
Dear Mrs Schwab,

Apologize me to  comment this subject,  considering that your  question has
specific direction: information to the NRC.

The International Basic Safety Standards IAEA Safety Series 115, recommend
at  II.17 (b), page 51:

Registrants and licensees shall ensure for nuclear medicine that:
administration of radionuclides for diagnostic or radiotherapeutic
procedures to women pregnant or likely to be pregnant be avoided unless
there are strong clinical indications;

Going ahead from this point to a correct opinion  it will possible if you
could clarify,  when you  mention "pregnancy was not known at the time of
the administration",  if the patient  was  suspected  that she was
pregnant, and had mentioned this possibility to the physician. Even, in this
case,  as above recommended,  the physician has the right to decide,  and
this is not the case to inform the Regulatory Authority, at least in my
country Brazil. Unless an error...

J. J. Rozental <josrozen@netmedia.net.il>
Israel