Handle with care

Healthcare workers face a number of occupational hazards, including physical injuries from lifting heavy items (patients!) and infectious diseases from needleprick injuries and the like.

But the tools of the trade also carry a risk—and a report from J Occup Environ Med highlights the danger of anti-cancer agents to nurses, pharmacists, and people not directly involved but working in close proximity: Evaluation of antineoplastic drug exposure of health care workers at three university-based US cancer centers1.

…despite following safe handling practices and engineering controls, contamination still occurred.

Although no genetic damage was identified in the contaminated individuals, this is obviously a major worry, and better risk management protocols need to be prepared and implemented.
[pullquote]…despite following safe handling practices and engineering controls, contamination still occurred[/pullquote]

previous post

Dollar and the medics

next post

What can we do for you?

1 thought on “Handle with care”

  1. TS Raman says:

    Surprising result. I doubt whether the “… safe handling practices and engineering controls” were really followed.

Legacy comments are closed.

User comments must be in English, comprehensible and relevant to the post under discussion. We reserve the right to remove any comments that we consider to be inappropriate, offensive or otherwise in breach of the User Comment Terms and Conditions. Commenters must not use a comment for personal attacks.

Click here to post comment and indicate that you accept the Commenting Terms and Conditions.