(ChemotherapyAdvisor) – A closed system transfer device (CSTD) can prevent leakage or accidental discharges during and after administration of chemotherapeutic agents, thereby protecting health care staff from accidental exposure, according to oncology nurses of Wake Forest Baptist Health, Winston-Salem, NC.
The conclusion comes from a study entitled “Dirty Little Secrets: Hazardous Drug Contamination at the Chairside,” which will be presented at the 37th Annual Congress of the Oncology Nursing Society, held this week in New Orleans, LA.
The aims of this study were to “assess surface contamination levels at the point of administration in an outpatient infusion center, evaluate the effectiveness of CSTD for administration to decrease the incidence of accidental exposure and levels of surface contamination, and reduce the level exposure at the chairside by maintaining an intact system.”
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Evaluation of the CSTD was conducted by first using ChemoGLO wipes to prepare samples from the infusion chair arm, side table, and adjacent utility cart. These samples were collected prior to implementation of a CSTD for administration; collection was repeated at 6 and 15 months after implementation of CSTD. The level of the chemotherapeutic agents — docetaxel and paclitaxel — was detected and analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry.
The investigators reported that “the chair arm and cart revealed no evidence of contamination, but the side table revealed contamination of docetaxel and paclitaxel at 847.4ng/ft2 and 1530.9ng/ft2, respectively. Samples collected, post-CSTD implementation, were negative, both at 6 and 15 months.”
The investigators concluded that placing the valve of a closed system device at the end of a syringe or tubing can prevent leakage or accidental discharges during and after administration.
Abstract (Find abstract #1341654 on the page)
