Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34648387›Full record

ArticleJCO global oncology2021

Development and Proof of Concept of an Audit Toolkit for the Safe Handling of Cytotoxic Drugs in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Sandrine von Grünigen, Ludivine Falaschi, Nicolas Guichard, Sandrine Fleury-Souverain, Antoine Geissbühler, Pascal Bonnabry

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JCO global oncology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 32% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Sandrine von GrünigenPharmacy, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-5501-2522
Ludivine FalaschiPharmacy, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
Nicolas GuichardPharmacy, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-6228-2379
Sandrine Fleury-SouverainPharmacy, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
Antoine GeissbühlerHI5lab, Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0001-5039-3373
Pascal BonnabryPharmacy, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-8690-649X
University Hospital of Geneva · CHUniversity of Geneva · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeChemotherapies are considered high-risk drugs for patient and staff safety. Considering the rising burden of cancer and the increasing use of chemotherapy drugs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), promoting continuous improvements in the safety and quality of practices in these settings is essential. This paper describes the development and proof of concept of a toolkit to audit chemotherapy handling practices in the health care facilities of LMICs.

methodsA steering committee defined the audit method and the toolkit content. Several checklists were developed to facilitate the audit and data collection. Items included in checklists were derived from key reference works on safe handling. Different tools were validated using Delphi surveys and expert reviews. Audits of pilot sites were performed to test the toolkit's applicability and relevance.

resultsThe toolkit contains a 134-item global assessment tool for the different processes at each step of the medication pathway and three step-specific observation checklists to assess different health workers' practices during the prescription, preparation, and administration of chemotherapies. The toolkit also proposes using a surface-wipe sampling method to measure any cytotoxic contamination of the immediate environment. The toolkit was tested in three teaching hospitals in Africa.

conclusionThe toolkit developed was successfully implemented in a variety of LMIC settings, providing a comprehensive evaluation of the quality and safety of the chemotherapy drug handling practices in participating health care facilities. This toolkit can help facilities in LMICs to implement a new approach to continuously improving the quality and safety of their practices and ultimately ensure patient and staff safety.

Indexed as

Antineoplastic AgentsPharmaceutical PreparationsAfricaDeveloping CountriesHealth PersonnelHumansAntineoplastic AgentsPharmaceutical Preparations

Identifiers

PMID34648387
PMCPMC8791817
OpenAlexW3205130976

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.