Re: Iodine Treatment of Hyperthyroidism in Cats

[John Cormack <rajc@flinders.edu.au>]

>Does anyone on radsafe work with or have any licensing experience with the
>use of I-131 in treatment of hyperthyroidism in cats?  How long do you keep
>the cat in isolation?  And what release instructions do you give the owner?
>
>Thanks for the help in advance.

Dear Chris

Ned Dykes from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Ithaca, NY has done a
lot of work on this sort of thing (based on actual exposure measurements he
has made on cats) and may be able to give you some advice.His contact
details are as follows:

***********************************
Dr. Nathan L. Dykes
Section of Radiology
College of Veterinary Medicine
Room C2-238 VMC
Ithaca, NY  14853
voice 607-253-3241
fax 607-253-3788
e-mail nld2@cornell.edu
************************************

The length of time you have to keep the cat in isolation before relase back
to the owner will depend on the activity administered, the circumstances of
the owner (eg are there going to be children or pregnant women around) and
local rules and regulations pertaining to permissible radiation doses,
disposal of radioactive waste and contamination levels. Based on Ned's
data, it looks like an isolation period of 3 to 3.5 days
post-administration would be sufficient to limit the radiation dose to less
than 1 mSv to persons in the household to which the cat is returning
(assuming a "normal" moggie contact pattern).

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers


John Cormack



_____________________________________________________
John Cormack
Chief Medical Scientist
Division of Medical Imaging
Flinders Medical Centre
Bedford Park
South Australia 5042

Ph:08-8204-4642 National, 618-8204-4642 International
Fax:08-8204-5450 National, 618-8204-5450 International