Precautionary practices of respiratory therapists and other health-care practitioners who administer aerosolized medications

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boiano, James M. ; Steege, Andrea L. ; Sweeney, Marie H. ; Tsai RJ
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: Respiratory therapists (RTs) and other health-care workers are potentially exposed to a variety of aerosolized medications. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Health and Safety Practices Survey of Healthcare Workers describes current exposure control practices and barriers to using personal protective equipment during administration of selected aerosolized medications. METHODS: An anonymous, multi-module, web-based survey was conducted among members of health-care professional practice organizations representing RTs, nurses, and other health-care practitioners. A module on aerosolized medications included submodules for antibiotics (amikacin, colistin, and tobramycin), pentamidine, and ribavirin. RESULTS: The submodules on antibiotics, pentamidine, and ribavirin were completed by 321, 227, and 50 respondents, respectively, most of whom were RTs. The relatively low number of ribavirin respondents precluded meaningful interpretation of these data and may reflect the rare use of this drug. Consequently, analysis focused on pentamidine, classified by NIOSH as a hazardous drug, and the antibiotics amikacin, colistin, and tobramycin, which currently lack authoritative safe handling guidelines. Respondents who administered pentamidine were more likely to adhere to good work practices compared with those who administered the antibiotics. Examples included training received on safe handling procedures (75% vs 52%), availability of employer standard procedures (82% vs 55%), use of aerosol delivery devices equipped with an expiratory filter (96% vs 53%) or negative-pressure rooms (61% vs 20%), and always using respiratory protection (51% vs 13%). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the availability of safe handling guidelines for pentamidine, implementation was not universal, placing workers, co-workers, and even family members at risk of exposure. Although the antibiotics included in this study lack authoritative safe handling guidelines, prudence dictates that appropriate exposure controls be used to minimize exposure to the antibiotics and other aerosolized medications. Employers and employees share responsibility for ensuring that precautionary measures are taken to keep exposures to all aerosolized medications as low as practicable. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Health Personnel Irritants Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory System Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Safety Management
• Keywords:
  Aerosol-particles Antibiotics Author Keywords: Aerosolized Medications Exposure-levels Exposure Controls Medical-personnel Medicinal-chemicals Nurses Pentamidine Personal-protection Personal-protective-equipment Respiration Respiratory-irritants Respiratory Therapists Risk-factors Safety-measures Surveillance Web-based Survey

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• ISSN:
  0020-1324
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  60
• Issue:
  10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046520
• Citation:
  Respir Care 2015 Oct; 60(10):1409-1417
• Email:
  rtsai@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Respiratory Care
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:cfa9a425b0a2ee728e1d006157619dafc537cc4f6e6ccc5ee1bbe0d3fb2ddda56edccb8277b89d4d812227b4acd018b323a3284349e13205adbec6988a2b11d2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201552/cdc_201552_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 138.99 KB ]