Ever increasing Occupational Exposures to Hazardous Drugs
Occupational exposures to hazardous drugs have increased drastically in the recent years
. Latest reports predict that almost 11 million people are suffering from various health hazards due to exposures to hazardous drugs and by the year 2020, the figure may cross to 16 millions. Control of these exposures is highly mandatory to save the mankind. This article is all about the fatal consequences of occupational exposures to hazardous drugs.
Chemotherapy is an efficient anticancer technique that includes several harmful chemical agents. Sulphur mustard gas was the first agent that was known to cause changes in the bone marrow of the veterans of 1st world war when hospitalized after many years. This led to its discovery as an anticancer agent, and the related, but less toxic, nitrogen mustards were later demonstrated to produce tumor regression in the lymphoma patients.
Healthcare workers and oncology specialists are well known about the noxious effects of chemotherapy treatment. However, awareness of these effects results in better treatment plans for patients undergoing cancer therapy to prevent and minimize adverse consequences. But provisions for the occupational risks to healthcare workers handling these drugs in the course of their duties still needed to be fully addressed.
More than hundreds of different cytotoxic drugs and antineoplastic drugs are presently in use for the development of useful medicines and many more are under their development stage in pharmaceutical plants. Medicines used to treat deadly diseases like cancer have opened new avenues, from improving the quality of life of patients to a complete cure.
Ever increasing Occupational Exposures to Hazardous Drugs