Assessment of the surface contamination of the primary packaging of oral antineoplastic drugs and secondary packaging of chemotherapy preparations at a Swiss hospital.

Due to the high toxicity of antineoplastic drugs, handling their packaging could lead to the chemical contamination of hospital environments and exposure risks to healthcare professionals and patients. This study aimed to assess the contamination of two main surfaces: the outer primary packaging of oral antineoplastic drug formulations ( Samples were collected using a validated wipe sampling method. The simultaneous analysis of 24 antineoplastic drugs: 5-fluorouracil, busulfan, carboplatin, cyclophosphamide, cytarabine, dacarbazine, daunorubicin, docetaxel, doxorubicin, epirubicin, etoposide, gemcitabine, idarubicin, ifosfamide, irinotecan, methotrexate, oxaliplatin, paclitaxel, pemetrexed, raltitrexed, topotecan, treosulfan, vinblastine, vincristine) and 1 antiviral compound (ganciclovir) was performed by UHPLC-MS/MS. A total of 58% and 90% positive results were obtained for the primary packaging of oral chemotherapies and for the secondary packaging of injectable preparations, respectively. The highest quantities found on the primary packaging for oral chemotherapies and on the surface of closed leak-proof bags were 111 ng of methotrexate and 19 ng of gemcitabine, respectively. Gemcitabine (69%) and cyclophosphamide (38%) were the two most common contaminants found on the packaging of injectable preparations and carriers, regardless of the chemotherapy preparations. Trace levels (ng) of antineoplastic drugs can be found on most surfaces of all evaluated pharmaceutical products. Thus, suitable personal protective equipment is mandatory for healthcare professional handling antineoplastic drugs.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.