[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: RE: Management of patients containing diagnostic amounts of
We store Sentinel Node Dissection tissues for 48 hours by the research
study protocol but the rule here is if it is a diagnostic dose, just good
Standard (term used to be "Universal" before CDC changed it) Precautions
are to be used when handling tumor, organ or miscellaneous surgery
"snipettes". When I visited Mike Bohan at Yale in New Haven last fall, he
monitors all incoming pathology tissues but primarily to look for seeds,
not diagnostic level contamination. Now therapy dose levels...
Am curious if others in healthcare are treating this potential the same?
Mark Steinbuchel, CHCM
Chairman, Radiation Safety Committee (HHS/RSC)
Alternate Radiation Safety Officer
Huntsville Hospital System
markst@ONC.hhsys.org
On Tue, 1 Sep 1998 15:53:12 "Dunn, Wes" <WDunn@intiso.com> wrote:
> Ron
> The key hangs on the regulation for release of patients [See 10 CFR 35,
> which I don't have on hand, for information]. Once the patient is
> released, they can walk out the door, get hit by a car, and brought
> directly back into the ER. The radioactive material inside is not
> regulated. So how is that different than being taken directly into
> surgery? It is important to note that each regulatory agency may
> interpret the actual point of release differently.
> That said, hospital staff will probably appreciate it if you keep them
> informed and take reasonable precautions for minimizing their exposure,
> particularly if the surgeon is operating on the imaged organ with a fair
> amount of activity remaining. As Carol Marcus will gladly point out,
> the dose is still pretty low, and is totally inconsequential for anyone
> else nearby. But that may require some training for staff acceptance.
> Wesley M. Dunn, CHP, Director, Environmental Health & Safety
> International Isotopes, Inc.
> 3100 Jim Christal Road
> Denton, Texas 76207
> Wdunn@intiso.com <mailto:Wdunn@intiso.com>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ronald Frick [SMTP:RFRICK@gammacorp.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 1998 3:02 PM
> To: Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: Management of patients containing diagnostic
> amounts of
> I am looking for feedback on what controls other hospitals
> implement when performing surgery on patients who have received
> diagnostic amounts of radiopharmaceuticals. The guidance I have come
> across only addresses therapeutic cases. Are specimens (tumors) removed
> from patients containing radioactive material stored for decay?
> According to NRC, the only radioctive material that is exempt from
> control is patient excreta released to the sewer. They have advised me
> that these samples must be stored for decay. Is this the policy at
> other facilities? Are surveys peferformed in the OR afterwards to check
> for contamination? Or, are biohazard contamination precautions
> considered to be adequate for the control of any radioactive
> contamination? What is the regulatory justification for not
> implementing controls?
************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html