All You Need To Know About Radiodermatitis

Radiodermatitis

Radiodermatitis


What is Radiodermatitis?

External beam ionizing radiation can cause radiation dermatitis. Radiodermatitis is also known as x-ray dermatitis, radiation skin injury, or a radiation burn. Radiation-induced dermatitis is most usually caused by treatment for underlying cancers. Radiation exposure during interventional procedures such as coronary angiography, embolization operations, and indwelling catheter placements might also cause it. Irradiation of the skin causes a complicated pattern of direct tissue destruction, including damage to epidermal cells and endothelial cells within blood vessel walls, as well as the recruitment of inflammatory cells.

What are the Clinical Features of Radiodermatitis?

Radiodermatitis usually appears a few days to weeks after treatment has begun. Its onset is dependent on the severity of the radiation dosage and the individual's normal tissue sensitivity. It is limited to areas of skin that have been irradiated, and the skin changes are distinct.

Acute Radiodermatitis

Acute Radiodermatitis develops within 90 days following radiation exposure. Depending on the intensity of the reaction, the patient may experience skin changes ranging from slight erythema (reddening) and desquamation (peeling skin) to skin necrosis (death of skin cells) and ulceration.

Chronic Radiodermatitis

Chronic radiation dermatitis can appear anywhere from 15 days to 10 years or more after the start of radiation therapy. It's a continuation of the acute process, with further inflammatory alterations in the skin.

The following are the characteristics of chronic radiation-induced alterations in the skin:
  • Follicular structures have vanished (pores)
  • In the dermis, there is an increase in collagen and damage to elastic fibres.
  • A thin layer of skin on the surface (epidermis)
  • Telangiectasia is a type of telangiectasia (prominent blood vessels).
Radiodermatitis (also known as radiation dermatitis, radiation-induced skin responses, or radiation damage) is a common side effect of ionizing radiation applied to the skin during cancer treatment or as a result of nuclear strikes and catastrophes, such as the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. More specifically, radiodermatitis, which includes erythema, dry desquamation, and wet desquamation, affects 95 percent of cancer patients who get radiation therapy. 

Radiation skin reactions cause a slew of issues, including treatment delays, lost aesthetic appeal, and a lower quality of life. Recent technical breakthroughs and various treatment regimens have only partially alleviated these negative side effects. The present state of knowledge about the pathophysiology, clinical symptoms, differential diagnosis, prevention, and management of radiodermatitis is examined in this article. Future research should focus on therapeutics that take into account existing knowledge of radiodermatitis pathogenesis while evaluating effectiveness using objective and universal outcome metrics.

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