Radiation Sickness in Man following the Administration of Therapeutic Radioiodine

Abstract

(i) Radiation sickness occurring after therapeutic radioiodine administration as ¹³¹I has been observed on 28 out of 44 occasions. The symptoms have been described and their resemblance to the symptoms occurring after a single X-ray dose has been noted. (ii) The latent period prior to the onset of symptoms after radioiodine administration varied between four and 13 hours with a mean of eight hours. This finding has been contrasted with the latent periods of two to five hours after medium voltage X rays. (iii) The correlations between integral dose at eight hours per square metre and mean dose-rate per hour to symptom onset per square metre and latent period have been noted. (iv) It is suggested that dose-rate may be an important factor involved in the production of the symptoms of radiation sickness.