Clinical Aspects of Radiation Accident Medical Management

抄録

Radiation accidents, fortunately, are rare events. However, the potential consequences can be very serious and radiation accident medical management is of great importance. In terms of clinical treatment decisions, it is crucial to rapidly obtain an estimate of the exposure scenario to predict the expected severity of radiation-induced injuries and to manage medical treatment. Accident scenarios involving dispersion of radioactive materials or nuclear power plants can mount up to large-scale events, like the accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima. Thus, preparatory planning of the medical management of radiation accident victims is very important. Different types of radiation exposure, sometimes combined with injuries are possible and the diagnostic and therapeutic measure as well as the outcomes will accordingly differ. The absorption of significant doses of ionizing radiation will lead to acute radiation syndrome (ARS) whose clinical course depends on the absorbed radiation dose and its distribution. Besides the hematopoietic system being the most vulnerable organ system to radiation exposure, the skin plays an important role in diagnostics and treatment of radiation accident victims. Multi-organinvolvement and multi-organ-failure also need to be taken into account. Basics and principles of radiation accident medical management and the most important therapeutic approaches will be addressed.