An evaluation of the permeability of chemotherapy gloves to three cancer chemotherapy drugs.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the permeability of chemotherapy gloves when using carmustine (BCNU), etoposide, and paclitaxel, which were selected based on their reported toxicity and unique solvent systems.

SAMPLE

Thirteen brands of chemotherapy gloves and one brand of examination glove. Of the 14 glove types tested, 11 were made of latex, and 3 were made of nitrile.

METHODS

Ten samples of each type of glove were evaluated using rigorous laboratory test conditions usually not encountered in normal usage. The thickness of the gloves was measured using a digital caliper. The glove material was secured over glass vials containing the drug solution and inverted in plastic cell wells containing a filter paper disc. After a two-hour exposure time, the filter paper discs were removed and analyzed for the presence of the drug.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES

Permeability (i.e., greater than or equal to 1% of the total amount of drug passing through the glove material.)

FINDINGS

All 14 types of gloves tested were impermeable to BCNU at two hours of exposure. Only two gloves, the Ansell Perry EP glove and the U.S. Clinical Chemo Bloc T glove, were impermeable to all three drugs. The remaining 12 gloves all demonstrated some level of permeation with etoposide at two hours, although 9 of the gloves had only 1 of 10 samples that were permeable. In all cases, percent of permeation was less than 2% of the amount of the drug in the test solution. Thirteen gloves tested for paclitaxel permeability were impermeable at the two-hour time period.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study indicate that most of the chemotherapy gloves on the market are either impermeable or minimally permeable to these three chemotherapy drugs.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE

Because gloves are universally recognized as a means of personal protection when handling cancer chemotherapy drugs, selection of a glove that is impermeable would be an obvious choice for healthcare workers. Although the present study was a static, laboratory-based study that did not duplicate actual work practice conditions. It should offer some guidance in the selection of glove types when handling chemotherapy drugs.