A Tertiary Medical Center Experience with Returning Radiopharmaceutical Therapy Patients.

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Medicine
• Radiopharmaceutical Therapy
• Radiation Safety

Background:

• Radiopharmaceutical therapy involves administering radioactive drugs for treatment.
• Patient readmission and potential radiation exposure are key safety concerns.
• Existing assumptions about patient management post-therapy needed validation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the actual magnitude and location of patient readmissions after radiopharmaceutical therapy.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of current radiation safety response protocols.
• To identify areas for improvement in managing patients undergoing radiopharmaceutical treatments.

Main Methods:

• Implemented a patient flagging system for readmitted radiopharmaceutical therapy patients.
• Collected data on patient encounters and administrations from May to December 2024.
• Analyzed return rates across different radiopharmaceuticals and hospital departments.

Main Results:

• 501 post-therapy patient encounters were recorded from 1,139 administrations.
• Readmission rates varied significantly by radiopharmaceutical and department.
• 61% of responses in outpatient settings showed contamination above action levels.

Conclusions:

• Initial assumptions regarding patient numbers and readmission sites were incorrect.
• Current radiation safety response requires updates to address real-world patient encounter data.
• Continuous assessment and interdisciplinary collaboration are crucial for adapting radiation safety to evolving therapies.