Expert Sources and Information On Hazardous Drug Handling Are Now Available for Media Access at Expert411.com
A recent alert (updated June 7, 2004, in its prepublication form) from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) sheds light on a new concern in the healthcare industry: the health risks posed to those working with hazardous drugs. The alert examines the issue in its entirety and provides measures for protecting healthcare workers, including use of a closed-system device for safe handling of antineoplastic and other hazardous drugs. Sources and resources, including experts on the subject and links to the Alert and relevant articles are now available at Expert411.com (click the hazardous drugs tab).
Denver, CO (PRWEB) July 29, 2004 -- With hazardous drug handling brought to the forefront of public scrutiny by a recent NIOSH Alert, expert sources and information on the subject have been assembled for media access at Expert411.com, according to Greg Baldwin, Chairman and CEO of Baxa Corporation. Baxa is a proponent of closed system technology (CST) to prevent the workplace contamination threats delineated in the Alert.
The expert information page is found at http://www.expert411.com/_wsn/page9.html. Expert contacts include James Jorgenson, RPh, MS, and Martha Polovich, MN, RN, AOCN.
Jorgenson is Director of Pharmacy for the Huntsman Cancer Institute and Associate Dean for Professional Affairs at the University of Utah. He is one of the authors of the recently published study: "Using a Closed-System Protective Device to Reduce Personnel Exposure to Antineoplastic Agents." The study, published in the November 2003 American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (AJHP), documents biological uptake of cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide in infusion center pharmacy and nursing staff in a newly built cancer center at the University of Utah. Study data indicates that standard worker precautions and safe handling guidelines did not prevent healthcare workers tested from environmental exposure and subsequent uptake of the chemotherapy drugs handled.
Jorgenson is frequently interviewed by the media on hazardous drug handling. He has recently presented related study data at professional sessions in New Orleans, Los Angeles and Miami.
Polovich is an experienced cancer educator and is co-author of "Chemotherapy and Biotherapy Guidelines and Recommendations for Practice" with Brown, K.A., Esper, P., Kelleher, L.O., O'Neill, J.E.B., & White, J.M. (Pittsburgh, PA 2001) and "Hazardous Drug Safe Handling" with the Oncology Nursing Society (Pittsburgh, PA, 2003 -- still in press). She received her diploma in nursing from Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Center, her BSN from Louisiana State University, and her MN in Adult Health Nursing from Louisiana State University.
Polovich is an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist at Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, GA, and active in the Oncology Nurses Society. She has served as a member of the NIOSH Working Group, Hazardous Drug Safe Handling since 2000.
Recently interviewed by Hematology Oncology News & Issues, Polovich had this to say regarding the risks of mixing chemotherapy in the April 2004 issue: "They are genotoxic. They can cause birth defects if you're pregnant or actively trying to conceive. They can also cause miscarriage. They can cause cancer."
The NIOSH Alert, "Preventing Occupational Exposures to Antineoplastic and other Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings," reflects years of work by physician, nurse, pharmacist and scientific experts in collaboration with members of the broad-based NIOSH Hazardous Drug Safe Handling working group.
Among the findings in the Alert are warnings that previous workplace precautions for containing hazardous drugs have been inadequate. Examples include:
| | - "Sessink and Bos noted that 11 of 12 studies detected cyclophosphamide in the urine of healthcare workers tested, indicating continued exposure despite safety precautions." (page 17)
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| | - "Considering all the data, the weight of the evidence in occupationally exposed cohorts demonstrates an association between exposures to hazardous drugs and increases in various measures of genotoxicity..." (page 19)
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| | - "Recent evidence summarized in this Alert documents that worker exposure to hazardous drugs is a persistent problem. Although most air sampling studies have not demonstrated significant airborne concentrations of these drugs, the methodology employed in the past has come into question...and may not be a good indicator of environmental contamination of the workplace. All studies that examined surface wipe samples have determined that surface contamination of the workplace is common and widespread." (page 41)
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The Alert recommends that employers improve environmental and employee protection where hazardous drugs are handled. The specific benefits of closed systems were called out:
| | - "An investigation conducted in the U.S. demonstrated a reduction in both the percentage of urine samples with measurable levels of cyclophosphamide or ifosfamide present and the concentration of the drugs in the urine following use of a closed-system device for six months..." (page 18)
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| | - "Transfers from primary packaging such as vials to dosing equipment (i.e. infusion bags, bottles or pumps) should be carried out using closed systems whenever possible. Devices that contain the product within a closed system during drug transfers limit the potential for aerosol generation, as well as exposure to sharps." (page 35)
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CST uses dry connections and a built-in expansion chamber to prevent drug aerosol leakage and subsequent transfer into the work environment. As a closed system, it contains hazardous drugs throughout the entire process of drug transfer, preparation, transport, administration and disposal - eliminating the risks of environmental and occupational exposure.
About Baxa Corporation
A leading provider of devices and systems for the preparation, handling, packaging, and administration of liquid medications, Baxa Corporation manufactures and markets a wide range of healthcare products for use in hospitals, critical care units and alternate-site pharmacies. Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, Baxa has subsidiaries and sales offices in Canada, the United Kingdom; Denmark, and Germany; and distribution partners worldwide. Further information is available at http://www.baxa.com.
Click the following link to view a presentation by Jim Jorgenson "Using a Closed System Device to Reduce Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Drugs." Jorgenson is Director of Pharmacy for the Huntsman Cancer Institute and Associate Dean for Professional Affairs at the University of Utah:
http://www.isips.org/presentations/PhaSeal/player.html
Contacts:
Marian Robinson, Vice President, Marketing
Baxa Corporation: 800.567.2292 ext. 2157 or 303.617.2157
Email: marian.robinson@baxa.com
Maggie Chamberlin Holben, APR, Absolutely Public Relations
303.984.9801, 303.669.3558 Email: maggie@absolutelypr.com
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