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Radiation colitis is injury to the colon caused by radiation therapy. It is usually associated with treatment for prostate cancer or cervical cancer . [ 1 ] Common symptoms are diarrhea , a feeling of being unable to empty the bowel , [ 2 ] gastrointestinal bleeding, and abdominal pain.
Chronic radiation damage to the rectum (>3 months) may cause rectal bleeding, incontinence, or a change in bowel habits secondary. Severe cases may lead to with strictures or fistulae formation. [ 5 ] [ 4 ] Chronic radiation proctopathy can present at a median time of 8-12 months following radiation therapy.
Acute radiation syndrome (ARS), also known as radiation sickness or radiation poisoning, is a collection of health effects that are caused by being exposed to high amounts of ionizing radiation in a short period of time. [1] Symptoms can start within an hour of exposure, and can last for several months.
The risk of systemic infection is higher when the organism has a combined injury, such as a conventional blast, thermal burn, [3] or radiation burn. [2] There is a direct quantitative relationship between the magnitude of the neutropenia that develops after exposure to radiation and the increased risk of developing infection. Because no ...
The delayed effects, found 3 months or more after radiation therapy, produce pathology which includes intestinal epithelial mucosal atrophy, vascular sclerosis, and progressive fibrosis of the intestinal wall, among other changes in intestinal neuroendocrine and immune cells and in the gut microbiota.
The reported health effects are consistent with high doses of radiation, and comparable to the experiences of cancer patients undergoing radio-therapy [15] but have many other potential causes. [14] The effects included "metallic taste, erythema, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss, deaths of pets, farm and wild animals, and damage to plants."
Some patients (less than 10%) report an increase in bowel problems (diarrhea or urgency of the bowels), but again this usually settles down without further treatment. [18] Radiation proctitis can be found in 0.5–21.4% of patients who received prostate brachytherapy due to the proximity of the prostate and the large bowel, with significant ...
However, because radiation therapy causes tissue changes, prostatectomy after radiation has higher risks of complications. To avoid the adverse side effects of a radical prostatectomy, doctors may recommend deferred treatment which can involve observation and palliative treatment or active monitoring with some local treatments as needed.