Elsevier

The Lancet

Volume 323, Issue 8368, 14 January 1984, Pages 74-77
The Lancet

MONITORING EXPOSURE OF NURSING AND PHARMACY PERSONNEL TO CYTOTOXIC DRUGS: URINARY MUTATION ASSAYS AND URINARY PLATINUM AS MARKERS OF ABSORPTION

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(84)90005-9Get rights and content

Abstract

In a study to determine whether hospital staff who handle cytotoxic drugs show signs of drug absorption, urinary mutagenicity assays gave positive results in a high proportion of non-exposed control subjects as well as in "exposed" hospital staff and were therefore considered unsuitable for routine monitoring. Determination of urinary platinum levels with atomic-absorption spectrophotometry of untreated urine may be a useful alternative. With this method platinum levels were below the reliable limits of detection in nurses and pharmacists who handled cytotoxic drugs (including platinum-containing drugs) and in controls. The urine of cisplatin-treated patients contained an average platinum level of 7 μg/ml, suggesting that contact with urine from patients undergoing intensive chemotherapy may be hazardous.

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  • Cited by (0)

    1

    Since the completion of this study Mrs Briggs has died.

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