EFFECTIVENESS OF CONTINUOUSLY INFUSED DTPA THERAPY IN REDUCING THE RADIATION-DOSE FROM INHALED (CM2O3)-CM-244 AEROSOLS

Radionuclide decorporation is the only effective method of reducing radiation dose for persons contaminated accidentally. In this study, dogs that had inhaled a moderately soluble aerosol of (Cm2O3)-Cm-244 were treated with either discrete intravenous injections of the chelating agent diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Zn-DTPA) or with subcutaneous infusion of Zn-DTPA at either 30 or 120-mu-mol kg-1 d-1. Each treatment regimen was continued for 64 d, whereupon all animals were killed, and collected excreta and tissue samples were analyzed for curium. All DTPA treatment methods were effective. A total of 89% of the initial pulmonary burden (IPB) was removed by DTPA injection, whereas 94% IPB was removed by the low dose of infused DTPA and 97% by the high dose treatment. Thus, low and high infused doses of DTPA prevented the translocation of >99.5% of curium to liver and 97-99% to bone and kidney. The resultant dose reductions to these organs were superior to those achieved by intravenous DTPA injections.