phosphorus-radioisotopes and Meningitis

Thirty-two patients with meningeal leukaemia who achieved meningeal remission with intrathecal methotrexate (MTX) plus dexamethasone (DMT) were entered in a randomized study of two maintenance treatments: (a) I6 patients received intermittent intrathecal doses of MTX plus DMT, and (b) I6 patients received intermittent intrathecal doses of radioactive chromic phosphate (CROP). The population and clinical characteristics of the cases assigned to each maintenance regimen were similar. The duration of meningeal remission was 55-600 + d (median 550 d) for the MTX and DMT group and 56-555 d (median 360 d) for the CROP group. There was no statistical difference (P greater than 0.05) between the curves of the two groups. Intrathecal CROP seems to be as effective as intrathecal MTX plus DMT as maintenance treatment for intrathecal MTX plus DMT induced meningeal remission. Further uses of this compound should be explored but it seems to be dangerous to administer it by lumbar puncture.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Child; Child, Preschool; Colloids; Dexamethasone; Female; Humans; Injections, Spinal; Leukemia, Lymphoid; Male; Meningitis; Methotrexate; Phosphorus Radioisotopes; Remission, Spontaneous; Time Factors

This review covers the side effects and adverse reactions to radiopharmaceuticals that were reported in the literature over the past 25 years. The information published prior to 1970 is sporadic, but due to the increased utilization of nuclear medicine procedures and the recognition that radiopharmaceuticals may have pharmacologic side effects, a registry has existed since 1971 to tabulate information on such effects. This survey is medical, rather than pharmaceutical in emphasis and so the adverse reactions are classified according to the target-organ systems involved rather than according to the specific radionuclides or to pharmaceuticals. If any of the radiopharmaceuticals of present or past use are not mentioned in this review, it is because no reports on their side effects were retrived by us. Hopefully, the organized registry system suggested by the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) will enable a more complete recording of side effects from radiopharmaceuticals in the future.

Topics: Bone Marrow; Brain Diseases; Colloids; Gold Colloid, Radioactive; Humans; Hyperthyroidism; Iodine Radioisotopes; Iron; Kidney Diseases; Liver Diseases; Lung Diseases; Meningitis; Peritoneum; Phosphorus Radioisotopes; Polycythemia Vera; Pyrogens; Radioisotopes; Radionuclide Imaging; Radiotherapy; Registries; Serum Albumin; Serum Albumin, Radio-Iodinated; Skin; United States; Xenon Radioisotopes