Radiation Injury Presenting to the Emergency Department: A Case Report

Abstract

Radiation injuries are closer to home than expected as radioactive sources are common in daily life. Our case study illustrates a case of radiation burns to the hand which presented about two weeks later to the emergency department after accidental exposure to an industrial radiation source. A 45-year old Chinese man presented 17 days later after being exposed accidentally to iridium-192 source at 43 curies. He subsequently suffered burns that required multiple operations to treat. The diagnosis of patients who present early after exposure with no clinical signs will likely pose a challenge for the emergency medicine clinician as radiation burns take time to manifest and may present days to weeks after radiation exposure.

Case Report: Unusual Radiation Risks in the Emergency Department –125I beads

“…14 Similarly, there was a case of a patient presenting to our emergency department with radiation burns after exposure to 192 Ir. 15 While both of these patients did not pose any hazard to the emergency department staff due to delayed presentation, they could well have presented acutely with surface contamination that the emergency department staff would not be aware of.…”