• 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:
  • Scan with appropriate radiation survey meter
  • Swab each nostril separately to help estimate level of internal (lung) contamination
  • Obtain spot and/or 24 hour urine/stool sample for radioactivity
  • Consider total body radiation survey with modified hospital nuclear medicine equipment