The Emile-Roux hospital in Puy-en-Velay (Haute Loire), has put an end to an overdose of ionizing radiation from its external radiotherapy unit that had been going on since June 2018, according to what concordant sources have learned this Saturday, they confirm to daily. information Progress.
“This malfunction detected on June 24 during an internal inspection was finally classified as level 1 on the ASN-SFRO radiotherapy event scale, graduated from 0 to 7, by the Nuclear Safety Authority, with whom we had a meeting (Friday ) in the presence of the Regional Health Agency,” Cédric Ponton, director of strategy at the Puy-en-Velay hospital center, said on Saturday.
An overdose within “acceptable tolerances”
Effective from June 15, 2018, the overdose of ionizing radiation generated by a particle accelerator, to destroy cancer cells, was discovered “during a quality control carried out as part of the modernization of the radiotherapy department, which will culminate next year with the renewal of the accelerator”, specifies Cédric Ponton.
“This incident is the consequence of an error that occurred during the computer modeling of the treatment table, at the height of the position of the patient’s head, prior to the radiotherapy sessions to define the intensity and orientation of the different radiation beams. ionizing radiation. to preserve healthy tissue”, indicates for its part the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) in a press release.
The ASN mentions “an overdose of 1 to 2% (…) which is generally kept within acceptable tolerances”. However, he asked the establishment to recalculate the dosimetry of all affected patients to “guarantee the absence of clinical consequences.”
134 affected patients
“After verification, the overdose was applied to 134 patients who underwent external radiotherapy treatments there for cancers in the cranial region or ENT”, specifies the address of the hospital that had initially transmitted the number of 146 to the ASN.
It adds that “it will send a letter to these 134 patients to reassure them, indicating that the overdose had no impact on their health, their treatment and their management.”
Given the duration of the dysfunction, the establishment announces that “the next creation of a Feedback Committee (Crex) should lead to a strengthening of internal controls.”
Source: BFM TV
