Surface Contamination in a Teaching Hospital: A 6 Year Perspective

Abstract

AbstractObjective:The aim of this paper is to review the surface contamination of three hazardous drugs within a teaching hospital and comment the different strategies put in place over the years in the context of these multicenter studies.Background:Many cross-sectional studies have been published about surface contamination with hazardous drugs in healthcare settings.Methods:This is a descriptive retrospective and longitudinal study. The study was conducted in a 500-bed mother-child university health center in Quebec, Canada.Results:A total of 72 samples (e. g. 36 in the pharmacy and 36 in outpatient care area) were obtained between 2010 and 2016 for a total of 216 analyses (three drugs/samples tested). The proportion of positive samples was 50 % (36/72) for cyclophosphamide, 32 % (23/72) for ifosfamide and 19 % (14/72) for methotrexate. The cyclophosphamide concentrations measured varied from undetectable to 400 pg/cmConclusion:This study shows a longitudinal perspective of the surface contamination of hazardous drugs in a teaching mother-child hospital. Every hospital should review its annual scorecard of contamination with a longitudinal perspective to minimize drug contamination. It is possible to contain surface contamination with hazardous drugs with different strategies.