ACUTE RADIATION DERMATITIS FOLLOWING RADIOFREQUENCY CATHETER ABLATIONOF ATRIOVENTRICULAR NODAL REENTRANT TACHYCARDIA

Radiation exposure during fluoroscopic imaging poses potential risks t o patients and physicians, especially during protracted cardiovascular or radiological interventional procedures. We describe a woman with r efractory paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia who underwent radiof requency catheter ablation of the slow pathway involved in atrioventri cular nodal reentrant tachycardia. The patient subsequently returned 4 weeks later with acute radiation dermatitis that was retrospectively attributed to a malfunction in the fluoroscopy unit that lacked a maxi mum current output cut-off switch. Using dose reconstruction studies a nd her estimated biological response, we determined that she received between 15 and 20 Gy (1 Gy = 100 rads) to the skin tin her back during the procedure. The exposure will result in an increase in her lifelon g risk of skin and lung cancer. This article underscores She potential for radiation-induced injury during lengthy therapeutic procedures us ing x-ray equipment.