• External Contamination
  • Full Body
  • Partial Body
  • Wound Contamination with Radioactive Shrapnel
• Internal Contamination
  • Via Respiratory Tract
  • Via Digestive Tract
  • Via Radioactive Dust in Open Wounds
• Incorporation

Patient Management:

Contamination
• Contamination results when a radioisotope (as gas, liquid, or solid) is released into the environment and then ingested, inhaled, or deposited on the body surface.
• How to diagnose
  • External contamination
    • Scan with appropriate radiation survey meter
  • Internal contamination
    • Swab each nostril separately to help estimate level of internal (lung) contamination
    • Collect ≥70 mL spot urine sample for isotope measurement
      • Instructions for sample collection, labeling, packaging and shipping (HHS/CDC)
    • Consider total body radiation survey with modified hospital nuclear medicine equipment