Iodine Therapy

1. Preparation
   1. Patient must have a Thyroid uptake and scan completed.
   2. Technologist will call the patient and will fill out the outpatient radioiodine therapy sheet, go over the post test instructions, and establish patient availability with appropriate post treatment living/working
   3. Technologist will look at the selected days the patient has given to see if an approved NYS radiologist can administer the therapy dose that day.
   4. Technologist will give the radiologist, which is licensed to give the therapy, the outpatient radioiodine therapy sheet and thyroid uptake and scan to calculate the therapy dose for the patient.
   5. If the patient is a female they must have a pregnancy test (beta test) within 24 hours unless they are surgically sterile or older than 55.
   6. Technologist will call the patient to help schedule the therapy date and put on the nuclear medicine schedule.
2. Patient Preparation
   1. Patient may need to be off certain medication for a designated time determined by the ordering physician.
   2. No seafood for 5 days.
   3. No CT contrast for 1 month.
   4. No X-ray pill or injection for 1 month.
   5. NPO 4 hours before therapy administration and nothing to eat or drink 1 hour after taking the I¹³¹.
   6. If the patient is a female they must have a pregnancy test (beta test) within 24 hours unless they are surgically sterile or older than 55.
3. Isotope administration
   29. The patient will receive capsules with a dose up to 29.9 mCi I¹³¹ of to be taken orally in the presence of an approved NYS radiologist which is licensed to give the therapy.
   30. The dose will be double identified by two technologists or a technologist and radiologist.
4. Day of Therapy
   1. Patient will check in at the Nuclear Medicine Department.
   2. Patient will be brought back by a technologist to the thyroid uptake room and be double identified.
   3. Technologist will call the approved NYS radiologist, which is licensed to give the therapy, to administer the therapy dose.
   4. The radiologist will go over the therapy and answer any questions the patient has, and be given the post test instructions.
   5. The technologist will calibrate the dose in the dose calibration and the radiologist will double identify it is the correct dose and amount of dose.
   6. The technologist and radiologist will both double identify the patient.
   7. The radiologist will administer the therapy dose to the patient.
   8. The patient will take the therapy dose and leave with written posttest instructions.
   9. The technologist will survey the room for any contamination.
   10. The technologist will go into Sorian Clinicals and charge the patient per millicurie of Sodium Iodide (I131), for the therapy dose.