SafetyVet
Solutions for the veterinary professions!
SafetyVet
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What do we need to know about using chemotherapy drugs in the veterinary practice?With the increased use of antineoplastic drugs in private practices, there is great concern that veterinary healthcare workers may be exposed to these cytotoxic drugs (so called because they are toxic at the cellular level) during preparation, storage, administration, and disposal procedures. Although little research has been done on the long-term risks specifically for veterinary healthcare workers, these types of drugs have been associated with human cancers at therapeutic levels, and are carcinogens and teratogens in many animal species. In addition to the chronic problems, many of these drugs have been shown to cause numerous acute problems such as damage to normal skin and localized skin necrosis after contact. Symptoms such as lightheadedness, dizziness, nausea, and headaches have also been reported in workers after the preparation or administration of antineoplastic drugs in poorly ventilated areas. The potential for harmful effects developing over a longer term is well-known. In the 1980’s it was first noted that the incidence of cancer in British healthcare workers was significantly higher than the population at large. Many studies conducted since then have confirmed that those in the oncology areas of the field are at a greater risk. It was also determined that the direct cause of those problems was the drugs used in treatment. Although some of the drugs we use today are newer and safer, many are exactly the same drugs that have been used for decades. Most CDs either bind directly to genetic material, or affect cellular protein synthesis, and may therefore damage growth and reproduction of normal cells as well. Organ damage has also been associated with CDs, not only in patients receiving long-term therapy, but among employees administering the treatment as well. With all these known and suspected problems, OSHA has developed a set of guidelines that are designed to assist workers who may be exposed to cytotoxic drugs through inhalation, skin absorption or trauma. These guidelines are not in a regulation format, but if a worker is ever hurt because the employer decided to ignore such directions, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine the liabilities involved. Realizing that the drugs are prepared and administered in a wide variety of places, OSHA could not cover all possible situations, but these guidelines provide a great basis for establishing a safe program at the average practice. With that in mind, some of the information in this issue has been extracted verbatim from those guidelines.
The information on these pages is excerpted from
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