• Surgery
  • Perform major surgery for life- and limb-threatening injuries within 36-48 hours after high-dose radiation exposure, i.e., before white blood cell and platelet counts begin to nadir.
  • With use of cytokines, expected kinetics of blood cell depletion may be altered and may extend window for surgery (See Radiation Effects on Blood Counts).
• Burn Treatment
  • Treatment of burns (and major trauma) must be considered when prioritizing care for victims of high dose ionizing radiation exposure.
  • Victims with burns to a significant percent of their body surface area PLUS high dose exposure (combined injury) will have a much poorer prognosis than those with radiation injury alone or burns alone.
• Blood Products
  • Use only irradiated and leuko-reduced blood products in patients receiving treatment for Acute Radiation Syndrome.

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