Objective: To estimate the occupational exposure of hospital personnel handling antineoplastics drugs using a highly sensitive and specific analitycal method in biological and environmental samples.
Design: To develop analitycal methods for the biological and environmental monitoring of more than one substance.
Setting: Five departments of the Policlinico Sant'Orsola-Malpighi (Bologna, Italy) involved in the preparation and administration of antineoplastic drugs.
Participants: 50 nurses handling antineoplastics drugs.
Main outcome measures: Evaluation of the occupational exposure of hospital personnel handling and administering anticancer drug cocktails.
Results: 19 of 50 subjects were positive to biological monitoring. Three were positive for MTX only, 11 for CP only and 5 subjects were positive for both. Urinary MTX levels ranged from 0.3 to 2.0 ppb, CP ranged fom 0.06 to 10.0 ppb. Wipe tests showed a higher contamination on the hoods working tray (where drugs are prepared), suggesting that the organization layout can affect the surface contamination level. Samples from each department resulted positive for at least one of three drugs.
Conclusions: The analytical methods developed allow sensitive and specific determination of indicators of internal and external dose. Biological monitoring is of primary importance for assessing the real espoxure of hospital personnel during the preparation and administration of the drugs. Environmental monitoring stresses the importance to observe the Guidelines for standard operating procedures and the importance of protective disposables to reduce exposure and the associated health risk.