Necessity and possibility of rehabilitation for patients exposed to radiation. Investigation by literature review

文献レビューによる検討

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to clarify the necessity and possibility of rehabilitation for patients exposed to radiation.
Method: Studies both in Japanese and in English related to radiation exposure accidents were reviewed.
Results: Although we identified a total of 2,269 reports in Japanese and 62,757 reports in English related to radiation exposure accidents, only three of these reports concerned rehabilitation for patients who had experienced whole-body radiation exposure. In these three studies, the problems in rehabilitation for patients with radiation exposure were assumed to be radiation burns and impairment of respiratory functions, the recovery from which was considered important to early ambulation and management of overall condition.
Conclusion: The present literature review showed that rehabilitation as general support, including early ambulation and respiratory care, is very important in the recovery of patients exposed to radiation. One challenge for future research is to discern the concrete effects of rehabilitation in radiation-exposed patients using an animal model of the pathological processes involved in radiation injury.