Baumann noted that while the survey size is relatively small, “these results suggest the recommendation is still widespread among patients undergoing radiation therapy.” On the patient side, 111 (83.4%) of 133 respondents said they received the advice from their health-care providers.ĭr. Of the 105 doctors and nurses who said they regularly manage radiation dermatitis for their patients, 96 of them (91.4%) said they regularly tell patients not to use skin creams during the hours before radiation treatment. They developed a survey to find out what percentage of providers advise their patients to avoid topical agents just before radiation treatments and what percentage of patients say they received that advice. Louis.įor the first part of the study, researchers utilized OncoLink, an online cancer service dedicated to patient and provider education that is run by Penn’s radiation oncology unit. He is also currently Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Washington University in St. Baumann, MD, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, in a statement. “This recommendation is a holdover from the early days of radiation therapy, but with the use of modern radiation treatments that can reduce dose to the skin, we hypothesized that it may no longer be relevant,” said the study’s lead author Brian C. However, patients have historically been advised to avoid using these treatments in the hours before radiation therapy to avoid increasing the amount of radiation absorbed by the skin. Both prescription and over-the-counter topical treatments are commonly used to give patients relief, some of which-such as silver sulfadiazine cream-contain heavy metals. Many patients treated with radiation therapy will experience radiation dermatitis-a rash or burn on the skin. The paper, published by Baumann et al in JAMA Oncology, found that while 91% of clinicians surveyed said they advised patients to avoid these skin treatments and 83% of patients surveyed said they’d received this guidance from their doctors, testing showed there was no difference in the radiation skin dose with or without these creams. Surface dose for 6- and 15-MV beams were significantly increased with a thicker (≥ 3 mm) topical application.Ĭontrary to the advice most patients with cancer receive when they go through radiation treatment, topical skin treatments, unless applied very heavily, may not increase the radiation dose to the skin and can be used in moderation before daily radiation treatments, according to findings from a new study.Dosimetric measurements showed no difference in the delivered dose at either the surface or a 2-cm depth with or without a 1- to 2-mm application of either topical agent.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |