The impact of radiation dread on mass casualty medical management during a radiological or nuclear event

Since the events of 9/11, a concerted interagency effort has been undertaken to create comprehensive emergency planning and preparedness strategies for management of a radiological or nuclear event in the US. These planning guides include protective action guidelines, medical countermeasure recommendations, and systems for diagnosing and triaging radiation injury. Yet, key areas such as perception of risk from radiation exposure by first responders have not been addressed. In this article, we identify the need to model and develop new strategies for the medical management of large-scale population exposures to radiation, examine the phenomena of radiation dread and its role in emergency response, and review recent findings on the willingness to work of first responders and other personnel involved in mass casualty medical management during a radiological or nuclear event.

794 Assessment of Nursing Knowledge and Preparedness for Nuclear Disaster

Introduction In the event of nuclear incident, burn care teams are most likely to be called upon to respond. Yet, knowledge gaps exist related to nuclear disaster response. The primary objective of this study is to determine nurses’ baseline knowledge of preparedness for and treatment of victims of a nuclear event. Methods As part of a quality assurance initiative, we surveyed staff nurses in an acute pediatric burn facility to assess their knowledge of nuclear sources in the local area, preparedness for a nuclear event, and treatment of radiation exposure. Survey domains included a nursing self-assessment of knowledge base and comfort in treating victims of nuclear events, followed by questions assessing nursing knowledge of the proper response to nuclear fallout as well as treatment of symptoms to acute radiation exposure. Questions were provided in nominal category format (multiple choice, or true/false) and Likert scale. Data was summarized using frequencies and descriptive statistics. Results A total of 26 nurses responded to this survey. Their average number of years of experience in nursing was 22 years (range:1–43 years); 80% of participants had a baccalaureate degree or higher in nursing. Survey analysis revealed that 85% percent of participants reported not having had formal training in nuclear disaster response, and 65% reported being uncomfortable both in their knowledge base and their ability to provide care to patients with acute radiation exposure. Eighty percent reported not feeling able to treat victims of a major nuclear disaster. Only two nurses demonstrated a perfect score in questions related to response and treatment of radiation exposure. On average participants answered 68% of questions correctly. A large majority reported the need for more education. Conclusions A significant knowledge gap exists in proper response and treatment of nuclear disaster victims. Nurses in our facility report a lack of comfort in both their knowledge base and ability to treat these patients. Educational programming is needed and is being developed in our facility to improve competency and skill around nuclear disaster events. Applicability of Research to Practice Results of this survey will be used to develop educational programming in nuclear disaster response. A post education survey will be used to assess change in nursing knowledge and preparedness according to these initial findings.

Targeted metabolomics of nonhuman primate serum after exposure to ionizing radiation: potential tools for high-throughput biodosimetry

There is a need for research to rapidly determine an individual's absorbed dose and its potential health effects after a potential radiological or nuclear event that could expose large portions of a population to ionizing radiation (IR).