Awareness Survey on the Negative Internal Pressure Vials of Anticancer Drugs Involving Pharmacists at Sixty-seven Hospitals in Hyogo Prefecture

Abstract

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.