Handling Cytotoxic Drugs
Abstract
Cytotoxic drugs which are used throughout the health care system to treat cancer, have not been classified in a manner that requires special Department of Transportation labelling even through there is clinical evidence that the drugs are potentially dangerous to humans if the drug material (liquid, powder) accidentally touches the skin, is inhaled, or is ingested. A field (AF hospital medical supply officer) level of knowledge determination was conducted in order to show that the lack of a labeling requirement contributes significantly to the medical supply health care worker's lack of knowledge about the potential hazard to humans associated with these drugs. The findings indicate that medical supply officer's whose facility handles cytotoxic drugs failed to demonstrate a basic knowledge about cytotixic drugs, particularly in key areas such as environmental protection, spill response, and internal control of the drugs. Those officer's whose facility did not handle cytotoxic drugs demonstrated a level of knowledge equal to the control group. This is significant because during CY 1985 an education effort had been undertaken by the Air Force Office of Medical Support to inform all supply officers about cytotoxic drugs. The Department of Labor, Office of Occupational Safety and Health in January 1986, issued a comprehensive guideline for handling cytotoxic drugs which exceeds all existing regulations regarding the labeling, storing, issuing, and handling drugs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA174467
Entities
People
- Robert J. Rennie
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology