Three-hour paclitaxel infusion in the outpatient setting

Paclitaxel (Taxol, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ), a naturally occurring antineoplastic agent discovered in the 1960s, is now considered to be one of the most promising drugs of the decade. Administration of paclitaxel requires a thorough patient assessment, extensive patient monitoring during infusion, as well as special patient education. When the 3-hour infusion of paclitaxel is compared with the 20-hour infusion, a decrease in the severity of neutropenia has been demonstrated. In this article, specific patient side effects, required monitoring, and specific patient education are described.