[Background] Medical staff have many occasions to be exposed to anticancer\ndrugs (ACDs) in the process of performing cancer chemotherapy. Although\nguidelines for the safe handling of ACDs have been published, actual measures\nagainst exposure to ACDs differ between hospitals, and no surveillance\ndata regarding the conditions of each hospital in relation to performing che-motherapy in Japan are available. [Methods] To understand current measures\nagainst exposure to ACDs and problems related to cancer chemotherapy at\noutpatient departments, we conducted a questionnaire survey on doctors,\npharmacists, and nurses in 10 leading hospitals for cancer chemotherapy in\nJapan. [Results] Responses were received from all 10 institutions. The hospital\npharmacists prepared all ACDs for outpatients in each institution. All hospitals\ntook basic measures against ACD exposure, such as using personal protective\nequipment and penetration-resistant waste containers. Conditions against\nexposure to ACDs generally improved between 2012 and 2015, especially in\nterms of conveyance of ACDs and use of a closed-system drug transfer device.\nHowever, no measures linking ACDs with administration routes or injection\nsites were commonly taken in any of the hospitals in 2015. [Conclusions]\nConditions against ACD exposure improved between 2012 and 2015, possibly\nbecause new guidelines were issued. To improve measures for ACD exposure\nin Japan, preparing more appropriate manuals and offering more opportunities\nto medical staff for continuing education are considered important.
Loading....