I-131 Detention

From: Michael M. Butler (mmb@spies.com)
Date: Tue Jan 14 2003 - 11:49:00 MST


News of the New Era...

> POLICE DETAINMENT OF A PATIENT FOLLOWING
> TREATMENT WITH RADIOACTIVE IODINE
>
> http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v288n21/ffull/jlt1204-3.html
>
>
> We recently treated a 34-year-old man for Graves disease with 20 mCi of
> iodine 131. Twenty-four hours after treatment, his radioactive iodine uptake
> was 63%. Three weeks after treatment, he returned to our clinic complaining
> that he had been strip-searched twice at Manhattan subway stations. Police
> had identified him as emitting radiation and had detained him for further
> questioning. He returned to the clinic and requested a letter stating that
> he had recently been treated with radioactive iodine.
>
> This patient's experience indicates that radiation detection devices are
> being installed in public places in New York City and perhaps elsewhere.
> Patients who have been treated with radioactive iodine or other isotopes may
> be identified and interrogated by the police because of the radiation they
> emit.
>
> We called the Terrorism Task Force of the New York City Police Department to
> determine how to prevent detainment of this group of patients. They
> recommended that treating physicians provide such patients with letters
> describing the isotope used and its dose, its biological half-life, and the
> date and time of treatment. The letters should also provide the physician's
> 24-hour telephone numbers to allow the police to verify the content of the
> letters. If a person who has been detected as emitting radiation provides
> such a letter, the police would then verify the letter's authenticity. Even
> in the best-case scenario, however, the patient would have to wait during
> this verification process. Patients should be informed about this potential
> problem after treatment with radioactive isotopes; they may choose not to
> use public transportation to avoid this inconvenience.
>
>
> Christoph Buettner, MD, PhD
> Martin I. Surks, MD
> Department of Medicine
> Albert Einstein College of Medicine
> New York, NY



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