Antibiotic preparation time in a horizontal laminar-airflow hood and in a biological-safety cabinet.

Times for preparation of injectable antibiotics in syringes and minibags were compared using a horizontal laminar-airflow hood (HLAH) and a Class II biological-safety cabinet (BSC). Six i.v. admixture technicians who had previous experience with both types of hoods were observed during batch preparation of tobramycin, clindamycin, and cefamandole in syringes and tobramycin, clindamycin, and acyclovir in minibags. Before timing began, the drug products were reconstituted and labels were prepared. Mean times for syringes were 60.4 seconds (n = 267) for the HLAH and 65.9 seconds (n = 186) for the BSC (p greater than 0.05). For minibag doses, mean times were 64.9 seconds (n = 129) for the HLAH and 78.3 seconds (n = 126) for the BSC (p greater than 0.05). Technicians' times for aseptic preparation of injectable antibiotics in syringes and minibags were not significantly greater when the procedures were performed in a biological-safety cabinet than when a horizontal laminar-airflow hood was used.