Blood contamination of the pharmaceutical staff by irinotecan and its two major metabolites inside and outside a compounding unit

Background Caregivers in healthcare settings are exposed to a risk of antineoplastic drug contamination which can lead to adverse health effects. Biological monitoring is necessary to estimate the actual level of exposure of these workers. This study was conducted with the aim of assessing blood contamination levels by irinotecan and its metabolites of pharmaceutical staff operating inside and outside a compounding unit. Methods The study took place within the pharmaceutical unit of a French comprehensive cancer centre. Blood samples were collected from the pharmacy workers operating inside and outside the compounding unit, and analysed by UHPLC-MS/MS. Plasma and red blood cell irinotecan and its metabolites (SN-38; APC) were determined with a validated analytical method detection test. Results A total of 17/78 (21.8%) plasma and red blood cell-based assays were found to be contaminated among staff. Overall, the total number of positive assays was significantly higher for staff members working outside the compounding unit than for workers working inside it ( P = 0.022), with respectively 5/42 (11.9%) and 12/36 (33.3%) positive assays. For plasma dosages, the “outside” group had a significantly higher number of positive assays ( P = 0.014). For red blood cell-based assays, no significant difference was found ( P = 0.309). Conclusions This study reveals that pharmaceutical staff serving in health care settings are exposed to a risk of antineoplastic drug contamination, not only inside the compounding room but also in adjacent rooms. The results would help to raise awareness and potentially establish protective measures for caregivers working in areas close to the compounding room as well.

Cross-Contamination of Enrofloxacin in Veterinary Medicinal and Nutritional Products in Korea

Poultry meat and eggs are vital sources of protein for human consumption worldwide. The use of several nutritional and medicinal products, including antibiotics, is crucial for efficient and safe poultry production. Accumulation of drug residues in meat and eggs from inappropriate drug use is a major concern to public health. Recently, enrofloxacin was detected (2.4–3.8 ppb) in edible eggs produced in Jeju Island, Korea. Although the farm from which the enrofloxacin-contaminated eggs were collected did not use enrofloxacin-containing products, they reported extensive use of a nutritional product (NPJ). Accordingly, in this study, we investigated whether enrofloxacin contamination had occurred accidentally in various widely used veterinary pharmaceutical products. Enrofloxacin content (4.57–179.08 ppm) in different lots of the NPJ was confirmed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. Furthermore, 76 veterinary pharmaceutical products that are widely used in poultry farms in Korea and claim to not contain enrofloxacin were collected and analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Among them, a florfenicol product and a sulfatrimethoprime product were found to contain 3.00 and 0.57 ppm enrofloxacin, respectively. These results suggest that appropriate manufacturing standards are not being followed and that strict monitoring of drug manufacturing is necessary in Korea to avoid drug contamination.

Polycaprolactone based membranes for the degradation of diclofenac present in water samples using ZnO nanoparticles as the active agent

Drug contamination in water is one of the current fields of study. Since 1990, the presence of drugs in drinking water has been a concern to scientists and public. In Mexico, these organic compounds are not efficiently removed in wastewater treatment plants; therefore, alternative methodologies have been studied that allow these compounds to have a high percentage of degradation or be completely degraded. One example of these techniques is heterogeneous photocatalysis which has obtained positive results in the degradation of drugs using ZnO nanoparticles. These are commonly selected for their electrical characteristics, even though they disperse in water and an additional unit operation is required to separate them from the liquid medium. To eliminate drugs with nano particles in a single stage, polycaprolactone-based membranes with adhered ZnO nanoparticles, by means of electrospinning, were prepared to degrade drugs such as diclofenac. The technique used has shown to efficiently break down diclofenac in 4 hours according to the capillary electrophoresis readings.