ReviewJournal of xenobiotics2025
Healthcare Waste Toxicity: From Human Exposure to Toxic Mechanisms and Management Strategies.
Review in Journal of xenobiotics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Towards Sustainable Healthcare Risk Waste Management in South Africa: A Systematic Review of Treatment Practices and Policy Gaps.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Pooled it
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Healthcare waste (HCW) represents a growing yet frequently underestimated threat to public health, due to its complex toxicological profile. Exposure to HCW has been associated with a broad spectrum of adverse effects, including infections of bacterial, viral, or fungal origin, as well as systemic consequences such as endocrine disruption, metabolic disturbances, and mutagenic, carcinogenic, or teratogenic outcomes. These risks are particularly elevated among healthcare professionals and waste management personnel, who are directly exposed to hazardous materials. This narrative review aims to consolidate current knowledge on the toxic potential of HCW, emphasizing the variability of risks according to waste category and point of origin. A critical reevaluation of the toxicity-health risk-waste management triad is needed to strengthen preventive and protective strategies in both clinical and waste-handling settings, and the review is therefore structured around targeted questions along this axis. Priority should be given to waste prevention, minimization, and segregation at source, as downstream treatment processes may introduce additional hazards. Each category of hazardous HCW exhibits specific mechanisms of toxicity, underlining the importance of targeted and informed management approaches. Future directions should include enhanced training for waste handlers, the development of unified regulatory frameworks, and improved international data collection and reporting systems. Strengthening these components is essential for reducing occupational and environmental health risks and ensuring safer conditions across healthcare systems.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.