6/22/2023 0 Comments Environ monit assess![]() In Cyprus, there has been no previous study evaluating the potential contamination of hospital environment with hazardous drugs in the oncology units. Several other studies have shown significant reduction in the levels of occupational and environmental contamination as well as exposure to hazardous drugs following the implementation of a CSDT device. With the introduction of the closed-system drug transfer device, there was a significant decrease in the levels of contamination to 68%, 45% and 20%, respectively. When standard drug delivery devices were used, the levels of contamination with positive wipe samples were 78%, 54% and 33% for Cyclophosphamide, Ifosfamide and 5-fluorouracil, respectively. In the US, between 2000–2005, the closed-system drug transfer device (CSTD) was introduced, and a study of environmental assessment was conducted in 22 hospitals. Another study performed in two hospitals in France, where positive air pressure isolators were used, demonstrated much lower levels of contamination especially in areas outside the isolators. However, after the cleaning procedures were reviewed and a second measurement was conducted several months later with samples taken from the same sites, results showed significantly lower levels of contamination. In Sweden, a similar study in a hospital pharmacy showed that CP or Ifosfamide (IF) were detected and quantified in 96–100% of wipe samples obtained from several areas in the preparation unit, with the highest values observed in the dressing room. It is worth mentioning that contamination was detected sometimes even after cleaning, implying that the cleaning protocols in British Colombia hospitals required further improvement. In a study conducted in 6 British Columbian hospital pharmacies, 61% of the samples tested positive for contamination with Cyclophosphamide (CP) or Methotrexate (MTX). Sugiura et al reported multi-center environmental monitoring studies evaluating cyclophosphamide exposure in Japan with levels of contamination ranging from 50% to 80% among all samples collected. Collecting surface wipe samples from different sites of the hospital environment constitutes one of the most widespread method used for environmental assessment studies around the world. Several methods have been employed to measure the level of environmental contamination with hazardous drugs in relevant occupational settings. Įnvironmental assessment and biological monitoring has been extensively used in order to estimate and quantify the potential workplace exposure of health professionals to anti-neoplastic agents and evaluate associated health risks. However, such reported reproductive toxicity was linked to higher levels of workers’ exposure to such drugs, usually observed in past decades compared to current levels of potential exposure observed nowadays. Cytotoxic drugs have been particularly associated with reproductive toxicity as documented by several scientific publications in the international literature. Such hazardous drugs, used in the treatment of cancer, have been associated with many adverse health effects following employee acute and/or chronic cumulative exposure. Anti-neoplastic agents constitute a significant workplace hazard for health professionals in the hospital environment.
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