Treatment toxicity: Radiation

Abstract

Intentional and unintentional radiation exposures have a powerful impact on normal tissue function and can induce both short-term and long-term injury to all cell systems. Radiation effects can last a lifetime for a patient and can produce complications for all organ systems. Primary care and emergency medicine health-care providers should understand acute and late effects of radiation treatment and exposure and how these interrelate with patient acute health care. Access to patients’ entire medical record portfolios as well as communication strategies with radiation experts needs to be available. The management of radiation’s acute and late effects in adults and pediatrics is presented.