Hospital Employee Health – June 1, 2004
June 1, 2004
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NIOSH alert: Do more to protect health workers from chemo agents
Current work practices are not adequate to protect health care workers from chemotherapeutic agents and other dangerous drugs, and hospitals need to be more vigilant in their efforts to prevent exposure, according to a hazard alert from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). -
More chemo protection is needed: Gown, goggle use low
Nurses who prepare and administer chemotherapy agents in outpatient settings often dont use the proper gloves or other recommended personal protective equipment (PPE), according to a survey of oncology nurses. Furthermore, few nurses who handle chemotherapeutic drugs received health evaluations that included reproductive and cancer evaluation, the survey found. -
Warning! Handling Hazardous Drugs
Studies have associated workplace exposures to hazardous drugs with health effects such as skin rashes and adverse reproductive events (including infertility, spontaneous abortions, or congenital malformations) and possibly leukemia and other cancers. -
Chemo case studies: How HCWs became exposed
Both vincristine and doxorubicin and their metabolites have been associated with allergic reactions when given to patients. The aerosolization of the drug present in the urine may have provided enough exposure for symptoms to develop. -
OSHA adds emphasis to hazard communication
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced an initiative to emphasize hazard communication, an area that already is a routine part of inspections. Every inspection even those focused on a specific complaint includes a review of hazard communication and record keeping. -
FDA rule delay limits info on latex gloves
Under current federal regulations, manufacturers can state that they comply with the ASTM standards but cannot label the boxes with the level of antigenic and total protein. The proposed rule sets maximum allowable protein levels of 1,200 mcg per dm2 and requires labeling of protein content. -
Undiagnosed patient spreads TB to HCW
A phlebotomist developed active TB and 56 employees tested positive for latent TB infection after a highly infectious patient spent three weeks on general medical wards before being placed in a negative pressure room. -
Pulmonary Cough Screen
Identification of patients at high risk of, or with documented Mycobacterium tuberculosis disease is to occur at the earliest point in the health care encounter. Avoiding delays in such identification will reduce potential staff and patient exposure to TB. -
Dollars and sense: Making a case for ergonomics
Are you comfortable talking about return on investment? How about loss run analysis? Those business concepts may sound like someone elses job. But if you talk the language of the hospitals financial officers, you may win unprecedented support for your ergonomics program. -
Do you need to use a safer needle device?
Here are some frequent questions and answers about needle safety compliance provided by the Safety Institute of Premier Inc., an alliance of 1,700 nonprofit hospitals and health systems based in Oak Brook, IL. More information is available on the Premier web site at www.premierinc.com/safety.