PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Sameer Tipnis AU - William J. Rieter AU - Vladimir Henderson-Suite AU - Leonie Gordon TI - Risk of Radiation Exposure to Clinical Staff from Paracenteses of Large-Volume Chylous Ascites After <sup>177</sup>Lu-DOTATATE Infusion AID - 10.2967/jnmt.121.262820 DP - 2022 Sep 01 TA - Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology PG - 274--277 VI - 50 IP - 3 4099 - http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/50/3/274.short 4100 - http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/50/3/274.full SO - J. Nucl. Med. Technol.2022 Sep 01; 50 AB - 177Lu-DOTATATE has gained wide clinical acceptance for the treatment of advanced gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors; however, little is known regarding its accumulation in ascites. As such, clinical staff performing paracenteses shortly after a treatment dose may be concerned about their potential radiation exposure or the risk of contamination. Methods: In this report, therapeutic paracenteses were performed on a patient with metastatic intestinal carcinoid complicated by recurrent chylous ascites at various time intervals after a standard 7.4 GBq dose of 177Lu-DOTATATE. Samples of the fluid were analyzed in a scintillation counter to estimate the concentration of radioactivity. Results: The concentration of activity in the ascitic fluid obtained 3 d after an infusion was exceptionally low (175.3 ± 25.9 Bq/mL). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that paracenteses conducted as soon as 3 d after a standard dose of 177Lu-DOTATATE pose little to no risk in terms of radiation safety to staff performing the procedure.