[Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs in Nursing Practice]

Handling of hazardous drugs in nursing practice, there are risks of a wide variety of occupational exposures such as drug administration, management of spills, care of patients after administration, etc. Using a general infusion set for intravenous administration, there are risk of exposure such as scattering when the bottle needle is spiked into the infusion bag, leakage when priming the infusion line with antineoplastic drug, spillage when removing the side tube. For intravenous administration, use of CSTD for administration is most effective, but in many facilities, a general infusion set is used due to cost considerations. Drug preparation for local infusion is often done on the patients' bedside and is one of the most dangerous tasks for nurses who assist. There are also risks of exposure when handling patient excreta, body fluids and linen contaminated with them. Exposure measures are necessary for a minimum of 48 hours after administration. In the prevention of occupational exposure in these tasks, understanding and cooperation of doctors and pharmacists is particularly indispensable. Also, patients and families need to be provided appropriate guidance on exposure control. Under the organizational recognition and efforts against exposure control, it is necessary to create an environment in which all medical staff can devote themselves to work with confidence.