• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.801-811
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• 2013

Purpose: To investigate changes in Quality of life (QOL) and related factors in patients with thyroid cancer undergoing Radioactive Iodine remnant ablation (RAI). Methods: Data were collected longitudinally 3 times for 6 months (2 weeks post-surgery, post RAI, 3 months post RAI) in a hospital located in Seoul. Questionnaires were used to measure levels of physical symptoms, anxiety, depression, and QOL. Ninety-eight patients with thyroid cancer who had RAI were included in the analysis. Data were analyzed using SPSS (18.0). Results: Findings for the three data collection times respectfully were: mean scores for physical symptoms, 0.53, 1.21 and 0.62, patients with depression, 47%, 36.7% and 37.7%, patients with anxiety, 18.4 %, 19.4% and 20.4%, mean scores for QOL, 7.06, 7.01 and 7.28. QOL score was highest 3 months post RAI (p=.031). In the stepwise multiple regression analysis, depression and fatigue were predicting factors for low QOL at all data collection times. Dysponia was a predicting factor for low QOL post RAI and 3 months post RAI. Conclusion: To increase QOL, it is necessary to provide information in advance regarding physical & psychological symptoms and to develop nursing intervention programs to decrease depression and fatigue.

• Journal of East-West Nursing Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.148-157
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of the experience of receiving radioactive iodine therapy among patients with thyroid cancer. Methods: A qualitative research design was adopted. The participants were ten women diagnosed with thyroid cancer who had received radioactive iodine therapy within one year. Data were collected through in-depth interviews from October of 2015 to April of 2016. Individual interviews were recorded, and transcribed data were analyzed using Colaizzi's method. Results: The six categories of the experience of receiving radioactive iodine therapy were "Finally realizing having cancer," "The lonely fight that feels like prison life," "Narrower scope of life," "Lack of understanding by others," "Enduring a short, yet difficult journey," and "A turning point for a new life." Conclusion: This study provides deep insight into the experience of thyroid cancer patients who had received radioactive iodine therapy. Nurses should concern their distress during radioactive iodine treatment and manage psychological difficulties as well as physical symptoms. Support from family and health care providers may help them to overcome the hard journey.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.12-17
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• 2012

Purpose : The patient's clothes and sheet after radioiodine therapy must be disposed of by related regulation. That must be disposed of as radioactive wastes, but that is reusing after radioactivity decay by keeping for the certain period of time. In general, The minimum storage period calculate by standard of take radioactive substance out of radiation controlled area based on measured surface contamination level. But the measurements of surface contamination level are able to differ by measurement method. In this paper, I wish to calculate the minimum storage period of patient's clothes and sheet after radioiodine therapy by measure nuclide concentration offered by the regulation on self-disposal of radioactive wastes. Materials and Methods : The whole area of patient's clothes and sheet measured 31 patients(male:9 patients, female:22 patients), who had radioiodine therapy(3.7 GBq:13 patients, 5.55 GBq:16 patients, 7.4 GBq:2 patients) from july 2011 to march 2012. The minimum storage period is calculated by the regulation on self-disposal of radioactive waste(100 Bq/g) and standard of take radioactive substance out of radiation controlled area(4 kBq/m2) Results : The minimum storage period of pillow sheet, upper uniform, lower uniform by standard of take radioactive substance out of radiation controlled area were each 4.6 days, 63days, 78 days. The minimum storage period of pillow sheet, upper uniform, lower uniform by the regulation on self-disposal of radioactive waste were each 18.1 days, 43 days, 62 days. Conclusion : We can verify that patient's clothes and sheet after radioiodine therapy exists a great deal of radioactive contamination. The minimum storage period calculation of patient's clothes and sheet is better suited to applying nuclide concentration offered by the regulation on self-disposal of radioactive waste. I recommend, To keep for at least 2 months of the patient's clothes and sheet contaminated radioactivity, for prevent contamination and unnecessary radiation exposure.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.3-9
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• 2014

Purpose: Our goals were to evaluate the effect of high dose radioiodine treatment for thyroid cancer by taking in laxatives. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients(M:F=13:7, age $46.3{\pm}8.1\;yrs$) who underwent high dose radioiodine treatment were seperated into Group 1 taking $^{131}I$ 5,500 MBq and Group 2 with the use of laxatives after taking $^{131}I$ 5,500 MBq. The whole body was scanned 16 hours and 40 hours after taking radioactive iodines by using gamma camera, the ROIs were drawn on the gastro-intestinal tract and thigh for calculation of reduction ratio. At particular time during hospitalization, the radioactivity remaining in the body was measured in 1 meter from patient by using survey meter (RadEye-G10, Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA). Schematic presentation of an Origin 8.5.1 software was used for spatial dose rate. Statistical comparison between groups were done using independent samples t-test. P value less than 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant. Results: The reduction ratio in gastro-intestinal 16 hours and 40 hours after taking laxatives is $42.1{\pm}6.3%$ in Group 1 and $72.1{\pm}6.4%$ in Group 2. The spatial dose rate measured when discharging from hospital was $23.8{\pm}6.7{\mu}Sv/h$ in Group 1 and $8.2{\pm}2.4{\mu}Sv/h$ in Group 2. The radioactivity remaining in the body is much decreased at the patient with laxatives(P<0.05). Conclusion: The use in combination with laxatives is helpful for decreasing radioactivity remaining in the body. The radioactive contamination could be decreased at marginal individuals from patients.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.449-457
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• 2023

Shielding for reducing exposure dose can make the diagnosis limited. The purpose of this study is to increase the efficiency of radiation protection and minimize the loss of image information by producing the shielding made of the water and the contrast medium which has different proportion and finding out the ideal proportion of them. Each shielding materials were made of water and water-soluble iodine contrast medium with the different proportion. The attenuation rate of absorbed dose was evaluated by the shielding materials in the plastic contents for measuring the efficiency of the radiation protection. As a result, the higher ratio of the contrast medium, the more efficient it is for radiation attenuation. The anatomical structure was observed most properly in case of the solution with 20 ml of the contrast medium and most difficultly in case of more than 60 ml of the contrast medium. In case of the signal intensity between skeleton and gas, the difference of average value had a significant as p < 0.001. Shielding with contrast medium attenuates less than the conventional shielding but in the examination for the sensitive part to radiation, it can be used to minimize the loss of the image information and reduce the exposure dose.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.81-84
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• 2013

The use of the dosimetry have been increasingly recognized as high radiation energy and radiation treatment planning(RTP) have rapidly developed in radiotherapy. There are many types of detectors for the dosimetry such as ionization chamber, film, TLD, diode, and etc. Among such detectors, the diode detector uses a photoconductor materials that generate electrical signals by the incident radiation energy. Though many research groups are recently interested in such materials, there is few experimental results except for silicon in the radiation therapy field. In this study, the feasibility of photoconductor materials was verified as a dosimeter through the evaluation of response properties at a high radiation energy. For the fabricated detectors based on $HgI_2$ and $PbI_2$, reproducibility, linearity, and pulse-rate response were analyzed. Such evaluations are essential factors for the use of dosimeter. From results, linearity and reproducibility of the fabricated $HgI_2$ detector indicated about 7% error. The fabricated $PbI_2$ detector showed 1.7% error in linearity, and 12.2% error in reproducibility.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.572-576
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• 2009

Purpose: Helicobacter (H) pylori infection has been considered the most important cause of gastritis, dyspepsia, and gastroduodenal ulcer. Radioiodine can be accumulated in the remaining thyroid tissue, salivary gland, and stomach. We investigated if the high radiation induced by radioiodine in the stomach after high dose radioiodine therapy (HD-RIT) is effective in the eradication of H. pylori infection. Materials and Methods: One hundred ninety nine patients (M:F=33:166, age $46.7{\pm}12.3$ years) who had HD-RIT (dose $159.1{\pm}25.9\;mCi$, range 120-250 mCi) after thyroidectomy due to well differentiated thyroid cancer were enrolled. To detect H. pylori infection, the urea breath tests (UBT) were performed at 1 hour before HD-RIT and at 4 weeks after HD-RIT. The results of UBT were classified as positive (${\geq}50\;dpm$) or negative (<50 dpm), and analyzed its values. Results: Of 199 patients, 103 (51.8%) patients had positive UBT before HD-RIT. Of these, 80 patients had follow-up UBT after HD-RIT. Among them, 76 (95.0%) patients had persistent positive UBT and only 4 (5.0%) patients were changed negative UBT. Among 76 patients with persistent positive UBT, 26 (34.2%) patients had increased the values of follow-up UBT, 49 (64.5%) had decreased them, and 1 (1.3%) had shown the same value. The different values of UBT between before and after HD-RIT were $62{\pm}66.1\;dpm$ in increased one of follow-up UBT, and $153.3{\pm}157.1\;dpm$ in decreased one of follow-up UBT. Conclusion: We conclude that the radiation induced by HD-RIT is ineffective in the eradication of H. pylori infection. However, it could be influential the degree or distribution of H. pylori infection.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.57-61
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• 2014

Purpose Iodine (I-131) is one of the most widely used radioactive isotopes for therapeutic in the field of nuclear medicine. Therapeutic I-131 capsule is made out of lead to shield high energy radiation. Accurate dosimetry is necessarily required to perform safe and effective work for relative workers. The Monte Carlo method is known as a method to predict the absorbed dose distribution most accurately in radiation therapy and many researchers constantly attempt to apply this method to the dose calculation of radiotherapy recently. This paper aims to calculate distance dependent and activity dependent therapeutic I-131 capsule using GEANT4. Materials and Methods Therapeutic capsules was implemented on the basis of the design drawings. The simulated dose was determined by generating of gamma rays of energy to more than 364 keV. The simulated dose from the capsule at the distance of 10 cm and 100 cm was measured and calculated in the model of water phantom. The simulated dose were separately calculated for each position of each detector. Results According to the domestic regulation on radiation safety, the dose at 10 cm and 100 cm away from the surface of therapeutic I-131 capsule should not exceed 2.0 mSv/h and 0.02 mSv/h, respectively. The simulated doses turned out to be less than the limit, satisfying the domestic regulation. Conclusion These simulation results may serve as useful data in the prediction of hands dose absorbed by I-131 capsule handling. GEANT4 is considered that it will be effectively used in order to check the radiation dose.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.149-154
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• 2010

Exposed doses to the patient's caregiver and their house due to the 131I from patients discharged from the hospital were measured using OSL dosimeters. Usually, 3.37-5.55 GBq (100-150 mCi) of $^{131}I$ administrated patients are discharged from the hospital after 3 or 4 days of hospitalization in Korea. In addition, after 5 to 8 days, the accumulated doses of the patient's caregiver and house after hospitalization of the patient were measured using OSL dosimeters. The results of the measured average accumulated doses were 0.1 mSv, which is 10% of 1 mSv, the public dose limit in the Korean Atomic Energy Law. And it's standard deviation was 0.087 mSv. Based on the results of this study, we anticipate that we could assure the compliance of the regulation requirement 5 mSv of MEST (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology) Notice No. 2008-45 for the patient's caregiver or family, even if we reduce the 3-4 days of hospitalization to 1-2 days or less.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.132-140
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• 2006

Well-differentiated thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy with an increasing incidence. Most patients with well-differentiated thyroid caner have a favorable prognosis with high survival rate. While surgery and radioiodine therapy is sufficient treatment for the majority of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer, a minority of these patients experiences progressive, life-threatening growth and metastatic spread of the disease. Because there is no prospective controlled study to evaluate the differences of management of thyroid cancer, it is hard to choose the best treatment option. And there are still lots of controversies about the management of this disease, such as surgical extent, proper use of radioiodine for remnant ablation and therapy, use of rhTSH instead of withdrawal of thyroid hormone, long-term follow-up strategy, thyroglobulin as a tumor marker, etc. In this review, recent data related to these conflicting issues and recent advances in diagnosis, radioiodine therapy and long-term monitoring of well-differentiated thyroid cancer are summarized.