Use of closed systems in the Hospital Pharmacy

Objective: In the setting of the increasing use of closed systems for reconstitution and preparation of these drugs, we intend to analyze the correct use of these systems in the Hospital Pharmacy, with the objective to minimize the risks of exposure not only for those professionals directly involved, but also for all the staff in the unit, taking also into account efficiency criteria. Method: Since some systems protect against aerosol formation but not from vapours, we decided to review which cytostatics should be prepared using an awl with an air inlet valve, in order to implement a new working procedure. We reviewed the formulations available in our hospital, with the following criteria: method of administration, excipients, and potential hazard for the staff handling them. We measured the diameters of the vials. We selected drugs with Level 1 Risk and also those including alcohol-based excipients, which could generate vapours. Outcomes: Out of the 66 reviewed formulations, we concluded that 11 drugs should be reconstituted with this type of awl: busulfan, cabazitaxel, carmustine, cyclophosphamide, eribulin, etoposide, fotemustine, melphalan, paclitaxel, temsirolimus and thiotepa; these represented an 18% of the total volume of formulations. Conclusions: The selection of healthcare products must be done at the Hospital Pharmacy, because the use of a system with an air valve inlet only for those drugs selected led to an outcome of savings and a more efficient use of materials. In our experience, we confirmed that the use of the needle could only be avoided when the awl could adapt to the different formulations of cytostatics, and this is only possible when different types of awls are available. Besides, connections were only really closed when a single awl was used for each vial. The change in working methodology when handling these drugs, as a result of this study, will allow us to start different studies about environmental contamination as a future line of work.

Hazardous drugs: new challenges, new opportunities

Occupational exposure to hazardous drugs can cause harmful effects on health professionals and several protective measures must be taken. Nevertheless, classification of hazardous drugs is not the same in all the published repertoires and the terminology is still confusing: hazardous drugs, biohazardous drugs or risky drugs are terms improperly described and can define very different drugs with a very different hazard profiles. In Spain, there is not an updated official list of hazardous drugs, and healthcare professionals must consider and follow other published lists. In our opinion, it is mandatory to do a consensus among these professionals, administration and labor union organizations in order to clarify some conflictive questions not only in healthcare settings but in investigational and academic scenarios too. These multidisciplinary groups should be involved also in teaching new and non-experienced personnel and in the knowledge reinforcement for the experienced ones.

Efectos sobre la salud en los trabajadores expuestos al dióxido de titanio

Objetivo principal: Revisar en la literatura científica si existen problemas en la salud y cuáles son, en los trabajadores expuestos al dióxido de titanio. Métodos: Revisión sistemática de la literatura científica recogida en las bases de datos MEDLINE (PubMed), Cochrane Library Plus, LILACS, OSH UPDATE, Biblioteca de la Organización internacional del Trabajo (OIT), Web of Science, IBECS. Los términos utilizados como descriptores y texto libre fueron: MeSH (thesaurus desarrollado por la U. S. National Library of Medicine), considerándose adecuados "Titanium", "Ocupational Exposure" y "Ocupational Diseases". Resultados: Se recuperaron 61 artículos. Tras aplicar los criterios de inclusión y exclusión obteniéndose 14 artículos (4 estudios de cohortes, 3 estudios de casos y controles, 1 estudio observacional descriptivo transversal, 4 estudios de casos clínicos y 2 estudios de serie de casos). En los cuales la población estudiada fue masculina en aproximadamente 90%. Entre los trabajadores expuestos se encuentran: Pintores, albañiles, mecánicos y empleados encargados de la fabricación de joyería artificial, pintura, papel, lacas, barnices y productores de TiO2. Las patologías encontradas con mayor frecuencia fueron las alteraciones respiratorias, seguidas de alteraciones cardiovasculares, alteraciones genéticas por exposición a nanopartículas de TiO2. No se encontró asociación entre exposición al TiO2 y cáncer pulmonar. Tampoco se encontró evidencia del incremento de la mortalidad por exposición. Discusión/Conclusión: Con los estudios seleccionados, no se puede establecer una asociación significativa entre exposición laboral al TIO2 y efectos sobre la salud, pese a que se encuentran descritas alteraciones respiratorias, cardiovasculares y sistémicas en trabajadores expuestos.