A new report by consumer and business analyst group MindMetre Research believes that more research is needed to assess the harmful effects on oncology healthcare staff of administering cytotoxic drugs and whether enough is being done to protect them. The risks to pharmacy staff who prepare hazardous drugs are well documented and regulated but the risk of potentially harmful exposure to the people administering those drugs seem to have been overlooked.
There have been a number of US and European studies indicating that oncology nurses administering chemotherapy experience symptoms, like hair loss and an unusually high rate of miscarriage, assumed to be the result of exposure to cytotoxic drugs.
From the article:
“The report also looks at whether measurement and monitoring of cytotoxic drug contamination levels is sufficiently rigorous. The use of ‘closed systems’ to prevent any escape of hazardous drug or vapour, from the point of preparation to administration and disposal, is mandated by regulations in the United States and many European nations. But, according to the report, many current transfer and administration protocols may not be compliant and contamination is not being regularly monitored at ward level. There is no Europe-wide legislation, guidelines or minimum standards to precisely define administration processes.”
Paul Lindsell, managing director of MindMetre says: “The evidence strongly suggests that nurses who are regularly administering chemotherapy drugs are at risk of developing health problems as a result of their prolonged exposure to cytotoxic chemicals. It appears that regulation and, more importantly, prevention of the occupational risks that these healthcare workers face is not rigorous enough, which raises serious questions of morality.”
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Understanding this, it’s apparent that policy makers and experts need to consider closed systems as an alternative to the current methods of administration. It is also crucial that there be stricter and more rigorously enforced rules in place to ensure the welfare of nurses and patients alike.
We couldn’t agree more.
Source: The Pharmaceutical Journal
