Surface contamination of antineoplastic drug vials: Comparison of unprotected and protected vials

Determination of the external contamination and cross-contamination by cytotoxic drugs on the surfaces of vials available on the Swiss market

“…The vials protected by plastic shrink-wrap had external contamination in lower amounts (less than 1 ng per vial). These results are consistent with those of Schierl et al 14 A variability of contamination levels was observed for different vials from the same batch number; which have already been demonstrated by the study of Touzin et al 7 Contamination levels with the active ingredient varying from <LOQ to 47.15 ng per vial were detected on a batch of 3 vials of 1 g of GEM. A factor of 40 was observed between the contamination levels by IF on the walls of 3 vials from the same batch (vials of 2 g of IF).…”

“…7,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] The most commonly tested vials contained cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide as active ingredients 7,[11][12][13][14][16][17][18][19][20] with levels of contamination between a few ng (e.g., 0-5 ng) and 500 ng per vial (a median of 100 ng per vial). However, Connor et al 12 have detected more than 69,000 ng of cyclophosphamide on a vial containing 2 g of drug from the US market.…”

Cleaning Efficiencies of Three Cleaning Agents on Four Different Surfaces after Contamination by Gemcitabine and 5-fluorouracile

“…(1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Drug residues are still found on various surfaces in and around the drug preparation area of (hospital) pharmacies and oncology wards, even on assumedly "clean" surfaces (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14) and on the outside of vials. (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23) Dermal contact followed by transdermal absorption is suggested to be the major route of incorporation in occupational settings. (24)(25)(26)(27) Apart from preventive measures, efficient cleaning strategies for decontamination of workstation surfaces must be consequently focused in terms of minimizing the risk of exposure to drug residues.…”

Environmental Contamination with Hazardous Drugs in Quebec Hospitals

“…Contamination of the exterior surface of vials is well documented. For instance, Schierl and others 26 reported that the exterior surface of 85% of cyclophosphamide vials tested between 2000 and 2008 had a measurable amount of the drug.…”