Čes. slov. farm. 2009, 58(5):225-229

Monitoring of surface cytotoxic drugs in the environment of hospital pharmacies in the Czech Republic

P. Odráška^1,2,*, L. Gorná¹, L. Doležalová¹, M. Oravec², J. Kuta², L. Bláha^1,2

¹ Masarykův onkologický ústav Brno

² Masarykova univerzita Brno, Přírodovědecká fakulta, RECETOX (Výzkumné centrum pro chemii životního prostředí a ekotoxikologii)

The study aimed to determine the contamination with antineoplastic (cytotoxic) drugs in 15 hospital pharmacies in the Czech Republic and to investigate the relationship between the level of contamination and the work load (number of preparations per week reported by the given pharmacy staff). For this purpose, surface contamination of the most exposed locations within the preparation and storage areas was monitored. Monitored surfaces were wiped with a nonwoven swab moistened with acetate buffer (0.02 M, pH = 4). Wipers were then extracted in the same solution and analysed for cyclophosphamide and platinum contents by high-performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), respectively. From the total of 119 collected samples, 70 samples (59%) were positive for at least one of the analytes and 43 samples (36%) were positive for both compounds studied. In general, the levels of contamination were higher in the preparation rooms than in the storage areas. Furthermore, it was shown that contamination is more frequent in those pharmacies where high numbers of preparations are routinely processed. Nevertheless, individual levels of contamination seem to be influenced also by the staff dedication and spatial organization of working areas.

Keywords: antineoplastic agents; contamination; cyclophosphamide; platinum; pharmacy

Grants and funding:

Studie vznikla s podporou projektu Národního programu výzkumu II - CYTO (2B06171) "Výzkum profesní zátěže zdravotnických pracovníků nakládajících s cytotoxickými léčivy v chronických prahových a podprahových expozicích". Autoři vyjadřují své díky doc. RNDr. Zdeňku Šimkovi, CSc. a Mgr. Jiřímu Machátovi, Ph.D. za cenné připomínky a pomoc při zavádění metod analýz cytotoxických léčiv a všem partnerům z nemocničních lékáren České republiky, kteří se zapojili do realizace monitorovací studie.

Received: September 9, 2009; Accepted: October 20, 2009; Published: May 1, 2009  Show citation