A large-scale study was carried out in order to determine the contamination level of antineoplastic drugs in pharmacies and to investigate the suitability and effects of wipe sample monitoring at regular intervals. A specific study design was developed. The 130 participating pharmacies were divided into a study and a control group, carrying out five and two wipe sampling cycles, respectively. The work practice was analyzed using questionnaires to identify factors that influence the contamination level. From 1269 wipe samples, 774 (61%) were contaminated with at least one of the analyzed cytotoxic drugs: cyclophosphamide, docetaxel, etoposide, 5-fluorouracil, gemcitabine, ifosfamide, methotrexate, and paclitaxel. A significant decrease of the contamination with cyclophosphamide and 5-fluorouracil was observed in the study group. The Monitoring-Effect Study of Wipe Sampling in Pharmacies method has proven to be a reliable and affordable tool for contamination control. Based on the 90th percentile of the contamination values, a substance-independent performance-based guidance value of 0.1ng cm(-2) has been derived.

No abstract

No abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte.

The handling of infusions may involve a risk of nurses' exposure to active agents by release of infusion solution into the work environment. According to our results with different infusion sets, exposure risks can be reduced technically and by appropriate handling. Nevertheless, hand contaminations found for both sets emphasize the necessity for additional measures such as more consistent use of protective gloves.