Mesenteric angiography in patients with radiation injury of the bowel after pelvis irradiation

Radiology in intestinal ischemia. Angiographic diagnosis and management

Angiography is an essential component of the diagnosis and treatment of patients with acute and chronic intestinal ischemia. Aortography and selective angiography permit identification of the cause and precise anatomy of intestinal ischemic syndromes, and also help plan their potential correction. Direct intra-arterial infusion of pharmacologic agents into splanchnic vessels has now become part of the therapy of these conditions. This article reviews angiographic techniques and their applications in the management of intestinal ischemic syndromes.

Small bowel obstruction as a late complication of the treatment of Hodgkin's disease

Small bowel obstruction (SBO) as a late complication of the treatment of Hodgkin's disease was found in 32 of 398 (8%) patients followed over a 20 year period. The vast majority of these patients had an initial staging laparotomy as part of staging protocols. Of 51 obstructive episodes, 13 were diagnosed clinically, 12 of the 13 had prior radiological or surgical documentation. Thirty-one episodes were shown radiologically; four were demonstrated at laparotomy and three recurrent episodes were identified in an unspecified manner. The median duration of each episode was 3 days and the median time between commencement from treatment for Hodgkin's disease and the development of a SBO was 21 months. Thirty-one of the 32 patients had had a staging laparotomy or prior abdominal surgery. Two patients had SBO because of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and one had SBO secondary to short bowel syndrome. These are thus not true complications of disease treatment. Twenty-nine of the 32 or 7.2% of patients thus had possible treatment-related SBO. The cause of SBO was recorded as adhesions from previous surgery in 27 of the 51 episodes. This was confirmed at laparotomy in 16 patients. Twenty-five of the 32 patients had received abdominal irradiation but only three obstructive episodes were attributed to radiation enteritis and fibrosis. In one of 22 patients who received chemotherapy, Vinblastine was implicated as a cause for SBO. Eighteen patients required laparotomy to lyse adhesions while the others were treated conservatively with tube drainage.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Late radiation injury of the small intestine. Clinical, pathophysiologic and radiobiologic aspects. A review

Transient symptoms due to injury of the intestinal mucosa occur in the majority of patients receiving radiation therapy for pelvic or intra-abdominal neoplasms. Late (chronic) radiation enteropathy, although less common, is a more serious condition, associated with high morbidity and mortality. The manifestations of late radiation enteropathy are primarily due to changes in compartments other than the mucosa, such as intestinal wall fibrosis and obliterating vascular sclerosis. As a result of recent clinical and experimental studies, considerable knowledge about the pathogenesis, dose-response relationship, and time-course of development of late radiation enteropathy has been obtained. Also, the advent of new animal models has facilitated studies of time-dose-fractionation relationships in the intestine. The present paper summarizes clinical, pathophysiologic, and radiobiologic aspects pertinent to the development of chronic intestinal radiation injury.

Misonidazole-induced radio-resistance in normal and preirradiated jejunal mucosa

Pretreatment of mice with a single dose of whole-abdomen irradiation led to a relative decrease in radiosensitivity in jejunal crypts given a second single dose of irradiation 2 months later. Hyperbaric oxygen (3.5 bars) restored the survival level to initial values, suggesting that there was radiation-induced hypoxia in the primed jejunum. However, misonidazole did not sensitize primed jejunal crypts; it reduced the radiosensitivity of both normal and primed crypts. This 'paradoxical' effect of misonidazole could well be due to the acute toxic side-effects of 1 mg/g body weight misonidazole i.p., as there was a sharp drop in the core temperature of mice immediately after drug injection. Artificially maintaining the temperature of miso-treated animals at a normal level produced crypt survival levels similar to those of both normal controls and primed controls. Thus, although the primed gut is chronically hypoxic, as suggested by the effects of hyperbaric oxygen, misonidazole is not a reliable tool for the study of this tissue hypoxia. In all in vivo experiments with misonidazole, core temperature must be controlled in order to avoid misleading interpretations of experimental results.

Carotid artery disease following external cervical irradiation

A retrospective study of 910 patients surviving at least five years after cervical irradiation for Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, or primary head an neck neoplasms showed the incidence of stroke following cervical irradiation was 63 of 910 patients (6.3%) during a mean period of observation of nine years. This represents a trend toward an increased risk for this population observed over the same period of time (p = 0.39). A prospective study of 118 similar patients currently living five years after cervical radiotherapy was performed to determine the incidence of carotid artery disease occurring as a consequence of neck irradiation. Abnormal carotid phonangiograms (CPA) were found in 25% of the patients and abnormal oculoplethysmographs (OPG) were found in 17%. These studies represent significant carotid lesions that are not expected in such a population. It is concluded that the carotid stenoses demonstrated are most likely a consequence of prior irradiation. Patients that are five-year survivors of cervical irradiation should have noninvasive vascular laboratory studies performed as part of their routine follow-up examinations in order to detect these carotid lesions while they are occult.

Gastrointestinal tract complications following radiotherapy of uterine cervical cancer: past and present

A retrospective analysis of the gastrointestinal tract complications in 298 patients with cervical cancer treated with radiotherapy at the State University of New York at Buffalo and Albert Einstein College of Medicine affiliated hospitals was carried out. Fifty-two patients had pretreatment surgical staging (39 transperitoneal and 13 extraperitoneal). Twenty-four percent had varying degrees of radiation sickness. They all responded to conservative therapy. Seven percent developed Stage I radiation proctitis. In the clinical staging group late complications consisted of: Three small bowel injuries, 4% persistent Stage I, 3% Stage III, and one patient with Stage II radiation proctitis. Among 39 patients who had transperitoneal surgical staging, two small bowel injuries, one case of gastric ulcer, and three cases of radiation proctitis were encountered. Only one of 13 patients who had extraperitoneal surgical staging developed intestino-vesico-vaginal fistula. A literature search was conducted, and prophylactic and therapeutic measures are discussed. The importance of careful selection of patients for radiotherapy and recognition of high risk clinical factors is reemphasized.

Radiation-induced carotid artery disease

Nine patients with atherosclerotic carotid artery disease associated with neck radiation were compared to 40 control patients. The data suggest that significant differences in age, incidence of coronary and peripheral vascular disease, elevated lipids and serum cholesterol, and the angiographic incidence of disseminated atherosclerosis justify the description of radiation-induced carotid disease as a clinical entity. Elevated serum cholesterol and hyperlipidemia may contribute to the development of radiation-induced vascular disease. Successful surgical reconstruction does not appear to be influenced by the prior radiotherapy, although periarterial fibrosis and increased difficulty in separating the plaques from the vascular media was encountered.

Roentgen manifestations of radiation injury to the gastrointestinal tract

Radiation injury of the gastrointestinal tract requires a minimum dose of 4200 to 4500 rads. The symptoms and signs of radiation injury usually appear within 6 to 24 months following therapy. The radiation induced changes include mucosal atrophy and ulceration associated with an obliterative endarteritis in the supportive vasculo-connective tissue. The roentgen manifestations are those of an ischemic process but may also mimic those of recurrent malignant disease. Obstruction, hemorrhage, and fistula formation are common complications. Surgery is frequently required. The morbidity and mortality is considerable.

Radiation-induced stenosis of the renal artery causing hypertension: case report

A case is presented of renal artery stenosis causing renin-dependent hypertension 11 1/2 years after irradiation for Wilms tumor. The literature was reviewed briefly for other cases of large artery damage after irradiation therapy.

Angiographic manifestions of regional enteritis

Regional enteritis may be a protean disease, easily diagnosed when the common clinical presentation is noted. Occasionally, however, "atypical" features lead to the clinical suspicion of neoplastic disease. Four patients underwent angiographic evaluation in this clinical setting, all demonstrating similar changes in the mesenteric arteries. A serrated, "corkscrew" pattern was present and corresponded well to the perivascular fibrosis noted histologically. Recognition of this angiographic pattern may be important in differentiating neoplastic from inflammatory disease processes.