SAFE HANDLING OF ANTINEOPLASTIC DRUGS - RESULTS OF A SURVEY

As research continues to highlight the risks involved in handling anti neoplastic drugs, the health services are giving increased attention t o safety measures. In order to establish what protective measures nurs ing staff employ and what they know about antineoplastic drugs, a surv ey was carried out in The Netherlands. The questions were based on the self-study modules by Dunne and the (American) Oncology Nursing Socie ty. A total of 1,373 questionnaires were distributed in 10 hospitals. Of these, 824 were returned, which represents a response rate of 60%. Over two-thirds (68%) of the nursing staff reported that they were inv olved, on a daily or weekly basis, in caring for patients being treate d with antineoplastic drugs. In the view of 94% of the nurses, protect ive measures are effective. While administering antineoplastic drugs, 91% of the respondents said that they wore gloves, 21% said that they wore a gown, 18% wore a mask, and 3% used goggles. While handling excr eta, fewer nurses applied safety measures. Thirty-nine percent of the respondents knew that latex gloves offer a greater degree of protectio n than PVC gloves. It appeared that there was not one Dutch hospital w hose guidelines for the safe handling of antineoplastic material were completely up-to-date and that nurses do not always follow the guideli nes established.