Mathilde Dupré, Ciprian Mihai Cirtiu, Nicolas Caron, Jean-François Bussières, Cynthia Tanguay
{"title":"Canadian Monitoring Program for Surface Contamination with 11 Antineoplastic Drugs in 126 Centres: Results for 2023.","authors":"Mathilde Dupré, Ciprian Mihai Cirtiu, Nicolas Caron, Jean-François Bussières, Cynthia Tanguay","doi":"10.4212/cjhp.3671","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs can lead to long-term adverse effects on workers' health.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To describe contamination with 11 antineoplastic drugs measured on surfaces within health care centres.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Centres sampled 12 standardized sites: 6 in oncology pharmacies and 6 in outpatient clinics. Samples were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 126 Canadian centres participated over the period January to April 2023. Cyclophosphamide (411/1476, 28%) and gemcitabine (352/1476, 24%) were frequently found on surfaces; less than 10% of samples were contaminated with the other 9 drugs. The 90th percentile of concentration was 0.0095 ng/cm<sup>2</sup> for cyclophosphamide and 0.0040 ng/cm<sup>2</sup> for gemcitabine. The armrest of a treatment chair (93/123, 76%) and the front grille inside the biological safety cabinet (61/123, 50%) were frequently contaminated with cyclophosphamide.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This monitoring program allowed centres to benchmark their contamination and helped increased awareness. Frequent decontamination, safe handling practices, and the use of personal protective equipment are mandatory.</p>","PeriodicalId":94225,"journal":{"name":"The Canadian journal of hospital pharmacy","volume":"78 2","pages":"e3671"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12057820/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"The Canadian journal of hospital pharmacy","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4212/cjhp.3671","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs can lead to long-term adverse effects on workers' health.
Objective: To describe contamination with 11 antineoplastic drugs measured on surfaces within health care centres.
Methods: Centres sampled 12 standardized sites: 6 in oncology pharmacies and 6 in outpatient clinics. Samples were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.
Results: A total of 126 Canadian centres participated over the period January to April 2023. Cyclophosphamide (411/1476, 28%) and gemcitabine (352/1476, 24%) were frequently found on surfaces; less than 10% of samples were contaminated with the other 9 drugs. The 90th percentile of concentration was 0.0095 ng/cm2 for cyclophosphamide and 0.0040 ng/cm2 for gemcitabine. The armrest of a treatment chair (93/123, 76%) and the front grille inside the biological safety cabinet (61/123, 50%) were frequently contaminated with cyclophosphamide.
Conclusions: This monitoring program allowed centres to benchmark their contamination and helped increased awareness. Frequent decontamination, safe handling practices, and the use of personal protective equipment are mandatory.