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Open Access 01-08-2020 | SARS-CoV-2 | Review Article

Low-dose radiation therapy for COVID-19 pneumopathy: what is the evidence?

Authors: Franz Rödel, Meritxell Arenas, Oliver J. Ott, Claudia Fournier, Alexandros G. Georgakilas, Soile Tapio, Klaus-Rüdiger Trott, Udo S. Gaipl

Published in: Strahlentherapie und Onkologie | Issue 8/2020

Abstract

In the current dismal situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, effective management of patients with pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome is of vital importance. Due to the current lack of effective pharmacological concepts, this situation has caused interest in (re)considering historical reports on the treatment of patients with low-dose radiation therapy for pneumonia. Although these historical reports are of low-level evidence per se, hampering recommendations for decision-making in the clinical setting, they indicate effectiveness in the dose range between 0.3 and 1 Gy, similar to more recent dose concepts in the treatment of acute and chronic inflammatory/degenerative benign diseases with, e.g., a single dose per fraction of 0.5 Gy. This concise review aims to critically review the evidence for low-dose radiation treatment of COVID-19 pneumopathy and discuss whether it is worth investigating in the present clinical situation.

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Title: Low-dose radiation therapy for COVID-19 pneumopathy: what is the evidence?
Authors: Franz Rödel
Meritxell Arenas
Oliver J. Ott
Claudia Fournier
Alexandros G. Georgakilas
Soile Tapio
Klaus-Rüdiger Trott
Udo S. Gaipl
Publication date: 01-08-2020
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2
Pneumonia
Radiotherapy
COVID-19
Published in: Strahlentherapie und Onkologie / Issue 8/2020
Print ISSN: 0179-7158
Electronic ISSN: 1439-099X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00066-020-01635-7

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Low-dose radiation therapy for COVID-19 pneumopathy: what is the evidence?

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

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