RADIOPHARMACY QUESTIONS

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This is part two of a series which started with drug calculation questions. They are designed primarily for pre-registration pharmacy graduates, however any staff working or training in radiopharmacy or nuclear medicine such as pharmacists, technicians and radiographers (both qualified and students) should I hope find them useful. Special thanks to Julian Macdonald for his invaluable feedback, and for questions 23-27. Any comments or queries, please email me!

1	A radiopharmaceutical can be defined as a radioactive material administered to a patient...	for diagnostic purposes. for therapeutic purposes. for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. in the form of ionising radiation.

2	Which of these is not a common form of ionising radiation?	α β γ δ

3	What is the SI unit for measuring radioactivity?	Curie (Ci) Becquerel (Bq) Sievert (Sv) Gray (Gy)

4	What is the important radioactive chemical produced by a molybdenum-technetium generator?	⁹⁹Mo ⁹⁹Tc Na^99mTcO₄ ^99mTc

5	What is the half life of ^99mTc?	21 hours 6 hours 66 hours 212,000 years

6	Who has overall responsibility for the safe use of ionising radiation in the pharmacy department?	The pharmacist in charge of the session The Radiation Protection Supervisor The Radiation Protection Advisor The head of the department

7	What would Pulmocis/Lyo MAA (macroaggregrated albumin) be used for?	Bone Scan (diagnostic) V/Q Scan (diagnostic) Kidney Scan (diagnostic) Treatment of Hyperthyroidism

8	What would MAG3 (Mercaptoacetylglycine) be used for?	Bone Scan (diagnostic) V/Q Scan (diagnostic) Kidney Scan (diagnostic) Treatment of Hyperthyroidism

9	What is the half life of ¹³¹I?	60 days 8 days 8 hours 6 hours

10	A dose of 550MBq of ¹³¹I is prescribed. A company can supply you with ¹³¹I capsules of 1100MBq (reference day 1st December). On what day should the capsule be administered to the patient?	1st December 2nd December 9th December 1st February

11	Which of these principles of radiation protection is the least important?	Dexterity Time Distance Shielding

12	What radioisotope is used to calibrate the Capintec dose calibrator?	²²⁶Ra ⁵¹Cr ⁵⁷Co ²¹⁸Po

13	4mL of eluate is added to a vial of HDP. The activity is measured and found to be 3220MBq at 1000 hours. You need to supply 450MBq at 1200 hours. What volume would you draw up? (Decay factor per hour = 0.891)	0.7mL 0.84mL 1.2mL 1.4mL

14	Pulmocis is labelled at 0915 hours, and the activity measured and found to be 1800MBq in 9mL. The vial is to be used to draw up doses at 1030 hours. What will the total activity be at this time?	1554 MBq 1558 MBq 1562 MBq 1566 MBq

15	DMSA is prescribed for a child born on 10/8/91 who weighs 45kg. The usual adult dose is 80MBq. What dose should be administered to this child according to ARSAC guidance?	40 MBq (patients under 16 always get half the dose) 60 MBq 65 MBq 80 MBq (full adult dose - it's a trick question!)

16	A fire breaks out in radiopharmacy. Do you...	Place radioactive sources behind lead and leave area Change clothes then leave area Leave the area Extinguish fire as firefighters cannot enter the area

17	For how long must the report of a significant incident involving radiopharmaceuticals be kept?	25 years 50 years 75 years 100 years

18	How often must a radiopharmacist's film badge be monitored?	weekly monthly quarterly yearly

19	What is the threshold above which the exposure of a pharmacy technician's film badge must be investigated?	0.2 mSv 0.4 mSv 0.6 mSv 0.8 mSv

20	In the event of a spillage, what would you not do?	Notify the supervising pharmacist or RPS Remove protective clothing, if spillage is upon them Measure the activity of the spillage Panic and run out of the unit.

21	Background radiation exists all around us and comes from both natural and man made sources. Which of the following sources, when averaged out over the population over a year, represents the greatest exposure dose of radiation?	Inhaled naturally occuring radionuclides Cosmic Radiation Nuclear Power Stations Medical Diagnostics

22	ARSAC - A group of experts who decide who can administer radiopharmaceuticals to patients. IRMER - Laws relating to radiation protection and safety	Both statements are incorrect Both statements are correct Statement 1 correct; Statement 2 incorrect Statement 2 correct; Statement 1 incorrect

23	What type of duty holder under IRMER is a radiopharmacy technician?	Referrer Practitioner Operator Radiation Protection Supervisor

24	The calibration factor for Tc-99m for a particular contamination monitor is 4000 cps per kBq/cm². If this monitor was used to assess the activity of some contamination and a reading of 1000 cps was obtained, what is the activity concentration (kBq/cm²)?	0.1 kBq/cm² 0.25 kBq/cm² 0.4 kBq/cm² 1 kBq/cm²

25	Who can administer radioactive materials to patients?	Any health care professional Any doctor Any doctor with an ARSAC certificate Doctor with ARSAC cert. listing specific procedure

26	For measurements of I-123 performed in a radionuclide calibrator, why are there correction factors for different syringes/volumes:	Because the residual activity varies with container Low energy γ rays are attenuated by diff. amounts Because of physical decay of I-123. All of the above.

27	Which of the following aspects are not covered by the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999?	Radiation doses to staff Radiation doses to members of the public Radiation doses to patients Radiation doses to pregnant employees

28	Where would I-131 accumulate in the body after administration?	Thyroid Bones Kidneys Liver