Historic Development and Medical Use of Nasopharyngeal Radium Irradiation Treatments

Abstract

Nasopharyngeal radium irradiation was a medical treatment that replaced eustachian tube inflation and was itself replaced by tympanotomy tubes. Research and development began in 1924 when Samuel J. Crowe was awarded funds to develop an otologic research laboratory. He observed that recurring adenoids and serous otitis were associated with childhood deafness. In collaboration with Curtis Burnam, he developed a nasopharyngeal radon applicator in the 1930s. This was modified in the 1940s to a nasopharyngeal radium applicator, which had a much longer half-life and did not need treatment lengths recalculated twice each day. Numerous reports on the clinical use of nasopharyngeal radium irradiation in the United States were published. Papers have cautioned against possible dangers of nasopharyngeal radium irradiation, but there have been no substantiated reports. This report ends with three concluding suggestions for research.