Radiation Security/Original Articles
GENG Jianhua, ZHANG Jinming, WANG Xiaotao, CHEN Yingmao
Objective To comprehensively evaluate the radiation protection of 177Lu-Dotatate therapy, and to provide a reference for standardizing and restraining patient behavior and activities after discharge and establishing relevant standards. Methods The radiation protection of 177Lu-Dotatate therapy started with the infusion of radiopharmaceuticals. The time points of each event in daily activities during and after therapy were listed in a chronological order, as well asthe persons with possible radiation exposure and their contact distance and contact duration in each event. The in vivo pharmacokinetic data in the instructions of 177Lu-Dotatate were used to estimate 177Lu activity in the patient’s body at each time point, and the formula for radiation dose in GBZ 120—2020 was used to estimate the radiation dose of the patient on the persons around him/her. Results 177Lu-Dotatate was administered to the patient at a dose of 7400 MBq when the patient attended the outpatient service or was hospitalized for treatment. The cumulative radiation dose was calculated for the medical staff, the public, colleagues, caregivers, adult family members, and the family members of children aged 3~10 years, and the measures for standardizing and restraining the patient’s behaviors were given when the dose constraint value for related persons in national standard was met. The conditions for realizing the requirement in national standard that pregnant women and family members aged < 3 years should avoid contact was also proposed in this article. Conclusion From the perspective of radiation protection, under the premise of standardizing and restraining the behavior of patients treated with177Lu-Dotatate after discharge, both ambulatory treatment and hospitalization are safe and feasible; if the activities of patients are no restrained after discharge, the radiation dose for family members, the public, and colleagues might exceed the dose limits or constraint values in relevant national standards.