Re: Potassium Iodide -Reply -Reply -Reply

[Charles Willis <CAW@nrc.gov>]

Dr. Rozental,

Your comments from the WHO Manual certainly are on target.  The situation,
however, is more complicated.  The May 1998 draft revision of the WHO
recommendations suggests that the WHO has recognized the NCRP error
concerning the low risk associated with the use of KI.  My impression is that the
WHO can hardly imagine administering KI without proper medical supervision. 
The WHO recommends not giving KI to anyone who has ever had a thyroid
problem, or who is allergic to iodine, or who is using medication involving lithium,
or who is taking a potassium-sparing diuretic (quite common in the US), etc. 
Further, the WHO says to adjust the amount of KI according to the age of the
recipient, ranging from 100 mg for adults to 12.5 mg for neonates.

Needless to say, the WHO