Question

Explain the various stages and effects of acute radiation syndrome

Answer 1

There are four stages,

• Prodromal stage (N-V-D stage): The classic symptoms for this stage are nausea, vomiting, as well as anorexia and possibly diarrhea (depending on dose), which occur from minutes to days following exposure. The symptoms may last (episodically) for minutes up to several days.        

   Effects: Symptoms are anorexia, nausea, and vomiting, Onset occurs 1 hour to 2 days after exposure, Stage lasts for minutes to days.

• Latent stage: In this stage, the patient looks and feels generally healthy for a few hours or even up to a few weeks.

     Effects: Stem cells in the bone marrow are dying, although the patient may appear and feel well. The stage lasts 1 to 6 weeks.

• Manifest illness stage: In this stage, the symptoms depend on the specific syndrome (see Table 1) and last from hours up to several months.

Effects: Symptoms are anorexia, fever, and malaise. Drop-in all blood cell counts occurs for several weeks. The primary cause of death is infection and hemorrhage. Survival decreases with increasing dose. Most deaths occur within a few months after exposure.

• Recovery or death: Most patients who do not recover will die within several months of exposure. The recovery process lasts from several weeks up to two years.

Effects: in most cases, bone marrow cells will begin to repopulate the marrow. There should be full recovery for a large percentage of individuals from a few weeks up to two years after exposure. death may occur in some individuals at 1.2 Gy (120 rads). the LD50/60^† is about 2.5 to 5 Gy (250 to 500 rads).