DRUG-ADMINISTERING PERSONS’ EXPOSURE TO ORAL ANTICANCER DRUGS TO BE ADMINISTERED THROUGH A TUBE

摘要

Objective: Recently, cancer treatment has been performed at home, and non-health-care professionals, such as family members, are responsible for the tubal administration of anticancer drugs in some cases. In this study, we quantitatively evaluated non-health-care professionals’ exposure to anticancer drugs using Indian ink. Methods: The subjects were 30 persons aged 22 to 24, 45 to 54, and 75 to 84 years (20-, 50-, and 80-year-old groups, respectively, n=10 per group). They were instructed to wear gloves and perform tubal administration to an adult training model using a syringe for catheters containing 20 mL of Indian ink. Five kinds of syringe were adopted. Subsequently, images of gloves were input into a personal computer using a scanner, and the number of pixels at the Indian ink-attached site was measured and used as a parameter of exposure to anticancer drugs. Results: When comparing the number of pixels among the syringes regardless of age, Syringe B showed the lowest number (163,741), and there was a significant difference between Syringes B and E. Furthermore, we compared the total number of pixels in each age group regardless of the type of syringe. In the 20-year-old group, it was the lowest (152,147), showing significant differences in comparison with the other groups. When Syringe B was used, the number of pixels was markedly lower than on adopting the other syringes. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the level of skill depended on their age, and that anticancer-drug exposure differed with the use of various syringes.