In case of large-scale radiation incidents, timely detection of overexposed persons and determination of the severity of radiation injuries will be of great importance. The main methods of diagnosing acute radiation injuries are the methods of physical and biological dosimetry. In practice, in case of radiation accidents, physical dosimetry may be unavailable due to the lack of individual dosimeters, lack of information about the duration of exposure, dose rate, distance to the source of ionizing radiation, etc. Under such conditions, biological dosimetry becomes a reliable source of data on people’s radiation. Currently, the clinical manifestations of radiation-induced syndromes available for detection are used for the initial diagnosis of acute radiation injury at the advanced stages of medical evacuation in the early period after radiation exposure. However, in the early periods after radiation exposure, the results of an objective study do not always allow us to establish the fact of overexposure. The most informative laboratory and instrumental methods for diagnosing radiation injury. With large radiation, most biological dosimetry methods will not be available for the initial sorting of those affected at the initial stages of medical evacuation. The use of methods of biological dosimetry is to a greater extent justified in the conditions of the hospital stage of providing medical care to those affected during the elimination of the medical and sanitary consequences of radiation accidents and disasters.

The radioprotective efficacy of recombinant flagellin (FL) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1) administered in combinations for preventive or therapeutic purposes was studied in experiments on white mongrel mice. The drugs were administered i.p. at doses of 1 mg/kg (FL) and 50 μg/kg (IL-1β). Simultaneous administration of the drugs in the early stages before irradiation was shown to be most efficacious in terms of 30-day survival of mice exposed to x-rays at a dose of 7.5 Gy (100% survival of mice vs. 53% survival in the control group, p < 0.01). Sequential administration of FL before exposure and IL-1β after exposure increased survival of the mice by 40% ( p < 0.05). The results indicated that combined use of biotechnological drugs for radioprotection was promising.

Experience of medical protection at radiation accidents is analyzed. It is shown, that medicines that have been in the arsenal of medical service during the liquidation of consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident satisfied their predestination in a whole and were rather effective for radiation protection. The modern strategy of pharmacological maintenance based on use of means and methods, allowing to keeping a life, health and professional serviceability of people in conditions of amazing action of a complex of factors of radiation accidents, is submitted.