Radiation Enteritis: Causes, Symptoms, Types, Risk Factors

Radiation enteritis is the term for intestinal inflammation brought on by radiation therapy. Radiation enteritis causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps when it is directed at the abdomen, pelvis, or rectum. Patients receiving radiation therapy for cancers of the pelvis and abdomen are more likely to experience it.

For the majority of patients, radiation enteritis is often a temporary disease. Inflammation typically subsides a few weeks after therapy is completed. Radiation enteritis, however, may not go away for a long time or can appear months or years after radiation therapy is stopped in certain individuals.

Chronic radiation enteritis can result in anemia, intestinal obstruction, and diarrhea as complications. Reducing symptoms until the inflammation goes away is the aim of treatment. In severe cases, intestinal segment removal surgery or tube feeding can be required.

Causes Of Radiation Enteritis

For several weeks throughout therapy, frequent exposure to radioactive materials is typically required. Radiation causes tissue damage and causes healthy cells to become inflamed. The cells lining the intestines are more susceptible to the effects of radiation.

The cells that prevent infections and regulate fluid balance can be killed by repeated exposure. The more doses you receive and the larger the colon treatment area, the greater your chance of developing radiation enteritis.

Also Read: Genitourinary Radiology- Horseshoe Kidney,  Micturating/Voiding Cystourethrography, Breast Imaging   

Symptoms Of Radiation Enteritis

Symptoms of radiation enteritis include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. Symptoms of radiation treatment for cancer are caused by intestinal inflammation. 

Usually, symptoms go away a few weeks following the end of treatment. Sometimes, though, they last longer. Prolonged radiation enteritis may cause anemia and intestinal obstruction.

What Are The Types Of Radiation Enteritis?

Conditions that are both acute and chronic are possible:

• Acute radiation enteritis can occur During radiation therapy. Usually, a few weeks pass before the symptoms go away.
• Chronic radiation enteritis develops months or years after therapy is completed. Prolonged symptoms can exacerbate illnesses.

Risk Factors  Of Radiation Enteritis

Radiation enteritis is significantly less frequent now than it was in the past. Radiation enteritis can strike as many as 50% of individuals undergoing radiation therapy if the radiation is delivered to the belly or pelvis using old-fashioned techniques. The radiation therapy procedures available today greatly minimize your risk of acquiring chronic radiation enteritis.

Some people are more susceptible due to:

• Conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes lower the quantity of blood that reaches their intestines.
• Tissue inflammation brought on by illnesses such as pelvic inflammatory disease already exists.
• Other treatments, such as chemotherapy, cause cell death.
• Inadequate food intake.
• Both the use of tobacco products and smoking.
• Damage to tissue from previous abdominal procedures.

Diagnosis  Of Radiation Enteritis

Radiation enteritis diagnosis may begin with a physical examination and a study of your medical history.

An endoscopy is a technique in which your small intestine is seen through a long, flexible tube with a camera placed down your throat. Alternatively, a colonoscopy, which entails putting a tube into your rectum to see inside your large intestine, is a possibility. An image of your intestines can occasionally be obtained using a capsule endoscopy, which is a technique in which a pill-sized camera is swallowed. The additional examinations may include imaging tests such as CT, MRI, and X-rays.

Also Read: Musculoskeletal Radiology: Bone Tumors

Treatment  Of Radiation Enteritis

Symptom treatment till resolution is frequently the approach taken to treat radiation enteritis. This disease, which induces gastrointestinal distress, is a consequence of radiation therapy for cancer.

 In addition to prescribing medicine for pain and diarrhea, your doctor could suggest dietary changes. Antibiotics are a treatment option for bacterial overgrowth. If your radiation enteritis gets worse, you might need to use a feeding tube. Sometimes the inflammatory section of the intestine is bypassed through surgery.

Also Read: Why is Radiology the most preferred branch?

Prevention Of  Of Radiation Enteritis

While you get radiation therapy, your medical team can take certain safety measures to protect your intestines. They include:

• Personalized positioning tools to maintain your body still during treatment.
• Radiation therapy that precisely targets a specific location is called intensity-modulated radiation therapy, or IMRT.
• Barriers that cover your colon or lower rectum.

Complications Of  Of Radiation Enteritis

Intestinal irritation and inflammation that persists can cause:

• Dehydration
• Electrolyte abnormalities.
• A fistula is an irregular joining of your intestines with an adjacent organ.
• Tears in your intestines' lining are known as intestinal perforations.
• Malabsorption is the incapacity to take in nutrients from meals.
• Intestinal blockage in little parts.
• Constriction, or intestinal narrowing.
• Peptic ulcer disease.

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