Made for Nurses

Nurses routinely face the risk of direct exposure to hazardous drugs due to their key role in the administration of medication. Exposure can happen during all stages of administration: when connecting IV bags to administration sets, when connecting administration sets to patients, during drug transfer and administration, when disconnecting, and during disposal of used IV equipment.

Exposure to toxic drugs as droplets or vapor can occur through inhalation, skin contact, unintentional hand-to-mouth ingestion or accidental needle stick and sharps injuries. In wards, and especially oncology wards, unintentional exposure to hazardous drugs poses a risk not only to nurses, but also to other hospital personnel, patients and their families, and the environment.

Studies show that nurses who handle antineoplastic drugs are exposed to the active ingredients. Furthermore, nurses who work with antineoplastic drugs show more chromosomal aberrations and an increase in birth defects that appear to be related to frequency of use ¹. In addition, there is an increased risk of spontaneous abortion with exposure to antineoplastic drugs ². Additional acute effects of exposure to hazardous drugs include skin rashes and nausea, while chronic effects include infertility, leukemia and other cancers ³.

The USP<800> regulation requires the use of CSTDs like Tevadaptor^® when administering hazardous drugs. To ensure safe practice and reduce exposure of nurses to hazardous drugs, guidelines by professional associations including the Oncology Nursing Society also recommend the use of CSTDs ⁴.

These key regulations and guidelines cover safe handling during hazardous drug administration for nurses. In combination with using personal protective equipment (PPE), best practices and other controls, Tevadaptor^® provides safety when nurses handle and administer toxic medications.

To put these regulations and guidelines into practice, Tevadaptor^® offers a range of solutions. For closed IV administration, a Tevadaptor^® Syringe Adaptor / Syringe Adaptor Lock is connected at the end of the administration set. This, combined with a Luer Lock Adaptor on the patient’s IV port, ensures that when the patient is disconnected there will be no drug escape.

The Tevadaptor^® Syringe Adaptor Lock is equipped with a patented locking mechanism that cannot be opened once in place. Closed bolus administration can be achieved similarly using the Syringe Adaptor Syringe Adaptor Lock at the end of a Luer syringe.