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Veillette JB, Carrier MA, Rinfret S, Mercier J, Arsenault J, Paradis JM. Occupational Risks of Radiation Exposure to Cardiologists. Curr Cardiol Rep 2024; 26:601-622. [PMID: 38625456 DOI: 10.1007/s11886-024-02056-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Invasive cardiologists are exposed to large amounts of ionizing radiation. This review aims to summarize the main occupational risks in a radiation-exposed cardiology practice. RECENT FINDINGS We carried out a literature review on the subject. The studies reviewed allowed us to list six main health risk categories possibly associated with radiation exposure among cardiologists: deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and biochemical damages; cancers; ocular manifestations; olfaction, vascular, and neuropsychological alterations; musculoskeletal problems; and reproductive risks. Our descriptive analysis demonstrates higher risks of DNA damage and lens opacities among radiation-exposed cardiology staff. Surveys and questionnaires have demonstrated a higher risk of musculoskeletal disease in exposed workers. Studies reported no difference in cancer frequency between radiation-exposed workers and controls. Changes in olfactory performance, neuropsychological aspects, and vascular changes have also been reported. Limited literature supports the security of continuing radiation-exposed work during pregnancy. Therefore, there is an urgent need to increase knowledge of the occupational risks of radiation exposure and to adopt technologies to reduce them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Benoît Veillette
- Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
- Department of Cardiology, Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Marc-Antoine Carrier
- Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
- Department of Cardiology, Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Stéphane Rinfret
- Department of Interventional Cardiology, Georgia Heart Institute, Gainesville, GA, USA
| | - Julien Mercier
- Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Jean Arsenault
- Department of Engineering, Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Jean-Michel Paradis
- Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada.
- Department of Cardiology, Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, Quebec City, QC, Canada.
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Di Bartolomeo L, Li Pomi F, Borgia F, Vaccaro F, Guarneri F, Vaccaro M. Role of Capillaroscopy in Early Diagnosis of Ionizing Radiation Damage in Healthcare Professionals. MEDICINA (KAUNAS, LITHUANIA) 2023; 59:1356. [PMID: 37512166 PMCID: PMC10385689 DOI: 10.3390/medicina59071356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Chronic ionizing radiation has biological effects on exposed healthcare workers, particularly on the skin. Capillaroscopy of the nail bed represents an easy, low cost, and non-invasive test to obtain information on the effects of chronic radiation exposure in healthcare workers. The aim of this study was to evaluate which capillaroscopic parameters are most associated with biological damage by chronic radiation exposure. Materials and Methods: We conducted a case-control study, in which cases were represented by healthcare workers exposed to ionizing radiations and controls by healthy subjects. We recorded anamnestic and personal data, including age and gender, before capillaroscopic examination of proximal nail folds of the fingers of both hands. Ten morphological qualitative/quantitative parameters were taken into consideration, assigning each of them a score on a scale from 0 to 3 (0 = no changes, 1 = <33% abnormal capillaries, 2 = 33-66% of abnormal capillaries, 3 = >66% of abnormal capillaries, for single magnification field at 200×). The parameters evaluated were: changes in the length, distribution and density of capillary loops, reduced visibility, decreased flow, visibility of the sub-papillary plexus, and presence of morphological atypia, such as ectasia, tortuosity, hemorrhage, and signs of neoangiogenesis. Results: We enrolled 20 cases and 20 controls. The two groups did not differ significantly for gender and age. Cases differed from controls in a statistically significant way for the following parameters: decreased capillary length (number of shortened capillaries) (p < 0.05), increased visibility of the subpapillary venous plexus (p < 0.05), tortuosity (p < 0.01), neoangiogenesis (p < 0.01), and ectasias (p < 0.001). Conclusions: We found that some capillaroscopic parameters, such as variability in length of capillaries, visibility of subpapillary venous plexus, presence of ectasias, tortuosity, and neoangiogenesis signs, are particularly associated with exposure to ionizing radiation in healthcare professionals. Alterations of these parameters may represent capillaroscopic clues of biological damage by chronic radiation exposure in healthcare professionals. Based on these observations, capillaroscopy may provide clinical data useful to the prevention and follow-up of radiation-exposed healthcare professionals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Di Bartolomeo
- Section of Dermatology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Federica Li Pomi
- Section of Dermatology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Francesco Borgia
- Section of Dermatology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Federico Vaccaro
- Department of Dermatology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Guarneri
- Section of Dermatology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Mario Vaccaro
- Section of Dermatology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
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Sirufo MM, Ginaldi L, De Martinis M. Nailfold Capillaroscopic Findings in an Orthopedic Surgeon: Reversible Abnormalities after the Cessation of Radiation Exposure. Radiat Res 2019; 193:236-240. [PMID: 31877253 DOI: 10.1667/rr15435.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Interventional fluoroscopy is a leading source of occupational ionizing radiation exposure for medical personnel. For example, orthopedic surgeons represent one occupation where the risk of exposure is large. This occupational hazard is the result of a cumulative dose of radiation over time. Adverse health effects induced by low-dose radiation exposure can arise from daily procedures performed over an entire career. Many of the radiation-induced effects that may develop are transient erythema, permanent epilation, dry desquamation, dermal necrosis and telangiectasia; these effects have occurred on the skin of fingers of interventionalists. Nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) is a non-invasive technique useful for early detection of radiation-induced effects on microcirculation of fingernails. Here we report on a case of an orthopedic surgeon exposed to radiation for 30 years during his professional career. He performed NVC before and after the end of his professional career, and regression of the microcirculatory abnormalities were documented after cessation of radiation exposure. To our knowledge, this is the first published work in which the regression of chronic low-dose radiation-induced alterations of finger microvessels have been described and documented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Maddalena Sirufo
- Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.,Department of Allergology and Clinical Immunology Unit AUSL 04, Teramo, Italy
| | - Lia Ginaldi
- Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.,Department of Allergology and Clinical Immunology Unit AUSL 04, Teramo, Italy
| | - Massimo De Martinis
- Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.,Department of Allergology and Clinical Immunology Unit AUSL 04, Teramo, Italy
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Chen B, Dai Q, Zhang Q, Yan P, Wang A, Qu L, Jin Y, Zhang D. The relationship among occupational irradiation, DNA methylation status, and oxidative damage in interventional physicians. Medicine (Baltimore) 2019; 98:e17373. [PMID: 31574886 PMCID: PMC6775365 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000017373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Ionizing radiation can induce deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation pattern change, and ionizing radiation-induced oxidative damage may also affect DNA methylation status. However, the influence of low-dose ionizing radiation, such as occupational radiation exposure, on DNA methylation is still controversial.By investigating the relationship between occupational radiation exposure and DNA methylation changes, we evaluated whether radiation-induced oxidative damage was related to DNA methylation alterations and then determined the relationship among occupational radiation level, DNA methylation status, and oxidative damage in interventional physicians.The study population included 117 interventional physicians and 117 controls. We measured global methylation levels of peripheral blood leukocyte DNA and expression level of DNA methyltransferase (Dnmts) and homocysteine (Hcy) in serum to assess the DNA methylation status of the body. We measured 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHDG) and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) levels as indices of oxidative damage. Relevance analysis between multiple indices can reflect the relationship among occupational radiation exposure, DNA methylation changes, and oxidative damage in interventional physicians.The expression levels of Dnmts, 4-HNE, and 8-OHDG in interventional physicians were higher than those in controls, while there was no statistical difference in total DNA methylation rate and expression of Hcy between interventional physicians and controls. Total cumulative personal dose equivalent in interventional physicians was positively correlated with the expression levels of Dnmts, 8-OHDG, and 4-HNE. The expression levels of 8-OHDG in interventional physicians were negatively correlated with global DNA methylation levels and positively correlated with the expression levels of Hcy.Occupational radiation exposure of interventional physicians has a certain effect on the expression of related enzymes in the process of DNA methylation, while ionizing radiation-induced oxidative damage also has a certain effect on DNA methylation. However, there was no evidence that dose burden of occupational exposure was associated to changes of DNA methylation status of interventional physicians, since it is rather unclear which differences are observed among the effects produced by radiation exposure and oxidative damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Chen
- Department of Radiology, HwaMei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
| | - Qi Dai
- Department of Radiology, HwaMei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
| | - Qun Zhang
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Ningbo Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
| | - Peng Yan
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Ningbo Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
| | - Aihong Wang
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Ningbo Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
| | - Linyan Qu
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Ningbo Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yinhua Jin
- Department of Radiology, HwaMei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
| | - Dandan Zhang
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Ningbo Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
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Reeves RR, Mahmud E. Reports of a Possible Causal Link between Brain, Head, and Neck Tumors and Radiation Exposure during Coronary Interventional Procedures: A Sobering Look at the Data. CARDIOVASCULAR INNOVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS 2016. [DOI: 10.15212/cvia.2016.0014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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