Some powder formulations of anticancer drugs are currently distributed under negative pressure in vials. However, the internal pressures of the vials are not described in the package inserts. Therefore, an awareness survey was conducted involving pharmacists regarding their descriptions.Anonymous questionnaires, consisting of a 5-grade scale and free description questions, were distributed to the member hospitals of Hyogo Pharmaceutical Society, and responses were collected by FAX and 2-top ratio analysis was performed. In addition, an intergroup comparison was conducted by dividing the responders into two groups based on their experiences (i.e., more or less than 3 years) of dispensing anticancer drugs.Responses were collected from 246 pharmacists of 67 hospitals: Need prior information (82.5 ) and Need description (79.3 ). Among the pharmacists with experience of less than 3 years, Feel anxiety, Need prior information, and Feel safe with description were more common (P < 0.05). Of them, 79.3 specified description sites: vial body (90.8 ), cap (65.1 ), and package insert (39.5 ). Internal pressures were listed on a sheet or described in the procedure manual in only 13 hospitals, demonstrating dependence on dispensers experiences. Besides the internal pressure, they needed information on the recommended gauge, amount of dissolution, and kind of solvent on the vial bodies.
Deterioration of drugs due to light exposure is one of the major concerns, especially regarding protection of high-calorie infusion solutions, lightproof covers are used in hospitals. In the absence of any set standards regarding their usage, they are often reused. This study aimed to investigate bacterial contamination of lightproof covers used in hospital wards. For this, lightproof covers which had been used or stored in wards were collected and bacterial cultures were carried out from them. Examination of the cultures revealed that bacteria were present in the used lightproof covers. The bacterial species detected in the used lightproof covers were Bacillus species Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CNS) and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Bacillus species and CNS were also detected in lightproof covers stored in wards, whereas MRSA was not detected. Intestinal bacteria were detected in only one lightproof cover. However, no bacteria were detected from either inside or outside of the unused lightproof covers that were stored in the drugs department. After allowing the unused lightproof covers stored in the drugs department to stand for 24 h, Bacillus species and CNS were detected in only one of the covers, whereas no bacteria was detected in other covers. These results indicate that there is a risk of bacterial contamination in the reuse of lightproof covers and that they should either be disposed off properly after usage or hand, finger disinfectants should be used while handling them to prevent any possible contamination.
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