Posted on 05/06/2023 9:58:50 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Acute radiation dermatitis (ARD)—characterized by red, sore, itchy or peeling skin—affects up to 95% of people undergoing radiation treatment for cancer.
Researchers have found that many cases of ARD involve a common skin bacterium and that a simple, low-cost treatment can prevent severe cases.
"Until now, ARD was assumed to result simply from the skin being burned by the radiation," said Beth N. McLellan, M.D.
Staphylococcus aureus (SA) bacteria, often shortened to "staph," typically live harmlessly on the skin. But they can cause infections if the skin is broken by a cut. Courses of radiation therapy increase the risk for skin infection to occur.
…Before treatment, approximately 20% of patients tested positive for SA but did not have an active infection. Following treatment, 48% of those patients who developed severe ARD tested positive for the presence of SA, compared with only 17% of patients who developed the mildest form of the condition. Many patients with SA on their skin also tested positive for nasal SA, suggesting that SA from the nose might be infecting the skin.
The second study enrolled 77 patients undergoing radiation therapy, all but two of whom had breast cancer. Participants were randomized to receive either the standard of care at MECC (normal hygiene and moisturizing treatment such as Aquaphor), or the experimental antibacterial regimen. This treatment involved using the body cleanser chlorhexidine along with mupirocin 2% nasal ointment twice a day for five days, every other week, throughout their radiation treatment.
Although more than half the patients treated with the antibacterial regimen developed mild-to-moderate ARD, no patients developed moist desquamation—the most severe type of ARD that causes the skin to break down and develop sores—and no patients experienced adverse effects from the treatment. In contrast, severe ARD affected 23% of participants receiving the standard of care.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Severe ARD went from 23% of all radiation patients getting standard care to 0%.
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