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21 November 2009

Answer to Question #7767 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Category: Nuclear Medicine Patient Issues — Therapeutic Nuclear Medicine

The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field:

My sister is receiving 75 millicuries of iodine-131 after having a total thyroidectomy. Her doctor suggested she stay in a hotel during her isolation period of four days and she is seriously considering this idea. I have expressed concerns about hotel workers (who may or may not be pregnant) cleaning the room and future hotel guests (who may or may not be pregnant or may or may not be children) staying in the room or rooms adjacent. After what point would her hotel room be safe to be cleaned by a housekeeper or used by a guest, and is it ethical that a doctor even suggest that she stay in one?

I have heard of instances that hotels have been recommended to patients, but most hospitals would not recommend that, including my facility. If the cleaning staff did not wear gloves, it is possible that the workers could pull sheets off the bed, eat a snack with their hands, and ingest the radioactive iodine. The iodine-131 has a half-life of eight days, which means from the time it leaves the body and is deposited somewhere, after 60 days, 3 percent of the activity is still on the object. So it does not decay away very fast.

The majority of the activity comes out in the first few days—that is why the instructions given to the patient usually say to wash the sheets that you slept on separately—and there is little coming out of your skin in sweat after that. Since the iodine leaves the body in the sweat and urine, the sheets, pillow, and toilet will be where most of the contamination is deposited. The adjacent rooms are not a safety issue.

If your sister has no choice but to go to a hotel, she could bring her own sheets, pillow, and towels. Then she could tell the staff that she needs no housekeeping. Since I think most housekeepers do wear gloves when cleaning the bathroom, I would not be concerned about that.

Marcia Hartman

Answer posted on 14 October 2008. The information and material posted on this Web site is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may alter the concepts and applications of materials and information described herein. The information provided is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be relied upon in the absence of such professional advice specific to whatever facts and circumstances are presented in any given situation. Answers are correct at the time they are posted on the Web site. Be advised that over time, some requirements could change, new data could be made available, or Internet links could change. For answers that have been posted for several months or longer, please check the current status of the posted information prior to using the responses for specific applications.