SURFACE SAMPLING – HAZARDOUS DRUG RESIDUES
Healthcare workers who prepare or administer hazardous drugs or who work in areas where these drugs are used may be exposed to these agents in their workplace.
More than 5.5 million healthcare workers are potentially exposed to hazardous drugs. (NIOSH)
Definition of Hazardous Drugs
Hazardous drugs include antineoplastic drugs used for cancer chemotherapy, antiviral drugs, hormones, some bio-engineered drugs and other miscellaneous drugs. (NIOSH)
USP <800> and NAPRA recommend the surface sampling of antineoplastic residue twice a year. BCE Pharma offers this service to hazardous compounding facilities.
What are the objectives of this service?
Contribute to the assessment of safe practices in the workplace
Evaluate the potential exposure of hazardous drugs to staff
Validate the effectiveness of the decontamination procedure
Assess the quality of the standard operating procedures
Monitor results history with online logs
What hazardous drugs can be analyzed?
What areas can be sampled?
What is included in the sampling kit?
When and how will I obtain the results?
What hazardous drugs can be analyzed?
The marker drugs that can be analyzed for hazardous drug residue fall into one of the five categories defined by BCE Pharma.
fluorouracil
methotrexate
cytarabine, dacarbazine, DOXOrubicin, epirubicin, gemcitabin, melphalan
cyclophosphamide, DOCEtaxel, etoposide, ifosfamide, irinotecan, PACLitaxel, PEMEtrexed, topotecan, vinBLAStine, methotrexate
Platins (CISplatin, CARBOplatin, oxaliplatin)
All hazardous drugs in categories 1 to 4
What areas can be sampled?
Flat and non-flat surfaces
Biological safety cabinet, isolator, cart, countertop, floor, shelving unit, etc.
Isolator gloves, i.v bags, vials, door handle, faucets, etc.
What is included in the sampling kit?
A detailed sampling procedure
A form to be completed and returned to BCE Pharma with the samples
All the items required to perform the sampling by the facility:
A 1 Container
B 10 Glass vials
C 10 Plugs
D 1 Syringe
E 1 Needle
F Sterile water
G Labels
H 10 Filter papers
I 10 Templates
When and how will I obtain the results?
The results will be available on QUESS CONTROL within 3 to 4 weeks following the reception of the samples by the laboratory.
Results are expressed in ng/filter paper