Medical response to a major radiologic emergency: a primer for medical and public health practitioners

Abstract

There are several types of serious nuclear or radiologic emergencies that would require a specialized medical response. Four scenarios of great public health, economic, and psychologic impact are the detonation of a nuclear weapon, the meltdown of a nuclear reactor, the explosion of a large radiologic dispersal device ("dirty bomb"), or the surreptitious placement of a radiation exposure device in a public area of high population density. With any of these, medical facilities that remain functional may have to deal with large numbers of ill, wounded, and probably contaminated people. Special care and/or handling will be needed for those with trauma, blast injuries, or thermal burns as well as significant radiation exposures or contamination. In addition, radiologists, nuclear medicine specialists, and radiation oncologists will be called on to perform a number of diverse and critically important tasks, including advising political and public health leaders, interfacing with the media, managing essential resources, and, of course, providing medical care. This article describes the medical responses needed following a radiologic or nuclear incident, including the symptoms of and specific treatments for acute radiation syndrome and other early health effects.

Supplemental material: http://radiology.rsna.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1148/radiol.09090330/-/DC1.