The Role of Ionizing Radiation for Diagnosis and Treatment against COVID-19: Evidence and Considerations
Marina Chalkia,
Nikolaos-Achilleas Arkoudis,
Emmanouil Maragkoudakis,
Stamatis Rallis,
Ioanna Tremi,
Alexandros G. Georgakilas,
Vassilis Kouloulias,
Efstathios Efstathopoulos,
Kalliopi Platoni
Affiliations
Marina Chalkia
2nd Department of Radiology, Medical Physics Unit, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 12462 Athens, Greece
Nikolaos-Achilleas Arkoudis
2nd Department of Radiology, Diagnostic Radiology Unit, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 12462 Athens, Greece
Emmanouil Maragkoudakis
2nd Department of Radiology, Radiation Oncology Unit, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 12462 Athens, Greece
Stamatis Rallis
2nd Department of Radiology, Medical Physics Unit, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 12462 Athens, Greece
Ioanna Tremi
DNA Damage Laboratory, Physics Department, School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), 15780 Athens, Greece
Alexandros G. Georgakilas
DNA Damage Laboratory, Physics Department, School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), 15780 Athens, Greece
Vassilis Kouloulias
2nd Department of Radiology, Radiation Oncology Unit, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 12462 Athens, Greece
Efstathios Efstathopoulos
2nd Department of Radiology, Medical Physics Unit, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 12462 Athens, Greece
Kalliopi Platoni
2nd Department of Radiology, Medical Physics Unit, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 12462 Athens, Greece
The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to spread worldwide with over 260 million people infected and more than 5 million deaths, numbers that are escalating on a daily basis. Frontline health workers and scientists diligently fight to alleviate life-threatening symptoms and control the spread of the disease. There is an urgent need for better triage of patients, especially in third world countries, in order to decrease the pressure induced on healthcare facilities. In the struggle to treat life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia, scientists have debated the clinical use of ionizing radiation (IR). The historical literature dating back to the 1940s contains many reports of successful treatment of pneumonia with IR. In this work, we critically review the literature for the use of IR for both diagnostic and treatment purposes. We identify details including the computed tomography (CT) scanning considerations, the radiobiological basis of IR anti-inflammatory effects, the supportive evidence for low dose radiation therapy (LDRT), and the risks of radiation-induced cancer and cardiac disease associated with LDRT. In this paper, we address concerns regarding the effective management of COVID-19 patients and potential avenues that could provide empirical evidence for the fight against the disease.
