Mizumoto Masashi, Oshiro Yoshiko, Miyamoto Toshio, Sumiya Taisuke, Baba Keiichiro, Murakami Motohiro, Shimizu Shosei, Iizumi Takashi, Saito Takashi, Makishima Hirokazu, Numajiri Haruko, Nakai Kei, Okumura Toshiyuki, Maruo Kazushi, Sakae Takeji, Sakurai Hideyuki
Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.
Front Oncol. 2022 Aug 1;12:863260. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.863260. eCollection 2022.
Light flash and odor during radiation therapy are well-known phenomena, but the details are poorly understood, particularly in pediatric patients. Therefore, we conducted a prospective observational study of these events in pediatric patients (age ≤20 years old) who received radiotherapy at our center from January 2019 to November 2021. Light flash and odor were evaluated using a patient-reported checklist including the presence, strength, and duration of the phenomenon, and color of light or type of odor. 53 patients who received proton therapy (n=47) and photon radiotherapy (n=6) were enrolled in this study. The median age of the patients was 10, ranged from 5 to 20. The patients who was able to see the light flash was 4, and all of them received retina irradiation. This was equivalent to 57% of the patients who received radiotherapy to retina (n=7). The light was bright and colored mainly blue and purple, which seemed to be consistent with Cherenkov light. Odor was sensed by 9 (17%) patients, and seven patients of the 9 received nasal cavity irradiation. This was equivalent to 41% of the patients who received nasal cavity irradiation (n=17). Other 2 patients received proton therapy to brain tumor. The odors were mainly described as plastic, burnt and disinfectant, which may be caused by ozone generated during irradiation. These data suggest that pediatric patients with retinal and nasal cavity irradiation frequently sense light flashes or odor. So adequate care is necessary so that these patients are not worried about this phenomenon.
放射治疗期间出现的闪光和气味是众所周知的现象，但具体细节尚不清楚，尤其是在儿科患者中。因此，我们对2019年1月至2021年11月在我们中心接受放疗的儿科患者（年龄≤20岁）中的这些事件进行了一项前瞻性观察研究。使用患者报告清单评估闪光和气味，包括现象的存在、强度、持续时间以及光的颜色或气味的类型。53例接受质子治疗（n = 47）和光子放疗（n = 6）的患者纳入本研究。患者的中位年龄为10岁，范围为5至20岁。能够看到闪光的患者有4例，他们均接受了视网膜照射。这相当于接受视网膜放疗的患者（n = 7）中的57%。光很亮，主要颜色为蓝色和紫色，这似乎与切伦科夫光一致。9例（17%）患者感觉到了气味，其中7例接受了鼻腔照射。这相当于接受鼻腔照射的患者（n = 17）中的41%。另外2例患者接受了脑肿瘤质子治疗。气味主要描述为塑料味、烧焦味和消毒水味，这可能是由照射过程中产生的臭氧引起的。这些数据表明，接受视网膜和鼻腔照射的儿科患者经常感觉到闪光或气味。因此，有必要给予充分的护理，以使这些患者不会为此现象担忧。
