Radiation-induced lung injury

Radiation-induced lung injury
Radiation pneumonitis
Classification and external resources
Specialty	pulmonology
ICD-10	J70.0-J70.1
ICD-9-CM	508.0-508.1
MeSH	D017564

Pulmonary radiation injury is a general term for damage to the lungs which occurs as a result of exposure to ionizing radiation. In general terms, such damage is divided into early inflammatory damage (radiation pneumonitis) and later complications of chronic scarring (radiation fibrosis). Pulmonary radiation injury most commonly occurs as a result of radiation therapy administered to treat cancer.^[1]

The lungs are a radiosensitive organ, and radiation pneumonitis can occur leading to pulmonary insufficiency and death (100% after exposure to 50 gray of radiation), in a few months.

Radiation pneumonitis is characterized by:^[2]

• Loss of epithelial cells
• Edema
• Inflammation
• Occlusions of airways, air sacs and blood vessels
• Fibrosis

References

1. Movsas B, Raffin TA, Epstein AH, Link CJ (April 1997). "Pulmonary radiation injury" (PDF). Chest 111 (4): 1061–76. doi:10.1378/chest.111.4.1061. PMID 9106589.
2. Coggle, J. E.; Lindop, P. J. (1983). "Medical consequences of radiation following a global nuclear war". In Peterson, J. The Aftermath : the human and ecological consequences of nuclear war. New York: Pantheon Books. pp. 60–71. ISBN 0-394-53446-8.