Glass ampules and associated hazards

Accessing drugs dispensed in glass ampules is always associated with glass fragment contamination of the ampule contents on opening. In this study, the glass fragment contamination from the external surface of the ampule occurred 60% of the time with 1-ml sized ampules (p less than .01). Glass contamination has been shown to increase with larger ampule size. The glass ampule poses a potential source of microbial infection to the patient, as well as other hazards to the user. Increased precautions and improved drug container design appear to be desirable.