Overview
What the Name Means
Radiation pneumonitis (RP) is the inflammatory, subacute phase of radiation induced lung injury after thoracic radiotherapy.
NCLEX-RN
NCLEX-RN
Radiation pneumonitis (RP) is the inflammatory, subacute phase of radiation-induced lung injury after thoracic radiotherapy. It is not an immediate radiation reaction and does not mean that pulmonary fibrosis has already developed. RP generally appears within 6 months of treatment, often after a period when the patient seemed to be recovering. The later fibrotic phase usually develops after 12 months. These phases are not separated by a precise boundary; inflammation and fibrosis can overlap. The clinical problem is easy to underestimate because the symptoms resemble common complications of cancer treatment: pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, heart failure, tumour progression, an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or interstitial lung disease (ILD), and drug-related pneumonitis. RP is therefore a clinical-radiologic diagnosis of exclusion.
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