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 Following <sup>177</sup>Lu-DOTATATE Infusion
AID  - 10.2967/jnmt.121.262820
DP  - 2021 Dec 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
PG  - jnmt.121.262820
4099  - http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/early/2021/12/20/jnmt.121.262820.short
4100  - http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/early/2021/12/20/jnmt.121.262820.full
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 following 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 days after an infusion was exceptionally low (175.3 ± 25.9 Bq/mL). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that paracenteses conducted as soon as 3 days after a standard dose of 177Lu-DOTATATE pose little to no risk in terms of radiation safety to staff performing the procedure.