Awareness Survey on Handling and Exposure of Anti-Cancer Drugs among the Hospital Pharmacists / 医薬品情報学

Objective: Anticancer drugs have carcinogenic potential and are associated with occupational exposure risks among healthcareprofessionals who handle them. To minimize occupational exposure, healthcare workers must be adequately aware of the risks ofanticancer drugs and the appropriate techniques for their preparation. However, there is little information on the awareness ofpharmacists who prepare anticancer drugs in medical settings. The aim of this study was to investigate awareness of hazardous drugs(HD) and appropriate preparation techniques among pharmacists, and identify problems that pharmacists experience in managing theirexposure to anticancer drugs.Design: Questionnaire.Method: The questionnaire was sent by e-mail or mail to pharmacists employed at 270 institutions who belonged to the Chiba Societyof Hospital Pharmacists. From September 2015 to March 2016, respondents completed the questionnaires voluntarily and returnedthem by mail. Returning the questionnaire was regarded as informed consent to participate in this survey. Based on the completedquestionnaires, we examined the awareness of pharmacists in their daily work.Results: In total, 218 questionnaires were returned (collection rate: 10%). Awareness of the risks of anticancer drugs was high, and ahigh percentage of respondents use personal protective equipment during drug preparation, but the use of closed system drug transferdevices was low. Overall, however, it was found that many pharmacists had insufficient understanding of safe handling techniques.Discussion: Despite some recognition of the risks associated with exposure to HD, the measures taken to prevent exposure toHDs―including anticancer drugs―were inadequate and this issue must be urgently addressed by medical institutions and pharmacists.Countermeasures such as training sessions in the handling of HDs and the development of manuals are needed for each facility.

Questionnaire on Reciprocal Patient-Pharmacist Relationships for Good Self-Medication Practices / 医薬品情報学

<b>Objective: </b>It is unclear whether the importance of the healthcare professional’s role and the relationship between healthcare users and providers are well understood in self-medication (SM) practices.  We conducted a self-report survey to examine how the role of healthcare professionals in SM is interpreted and how the reciprocal relationship between consumers and pharmacists in SM is recognized.<br><b>Design: </b>Questionnaire survey.<br><b>Methods: </b>The sample comprised 493 medical professionals (283 pharmacists at hospitals, community pharmacies, and drug stores; 74 instructors at colleges of pharmacy; and 136 personnel of SM-related academic societies).  We mailed questionnaires with informed consent forms from September to November, 2014; those who agreed to participate mailed completed questionnaires back.  We examined how individuals define and interpret SM, clarified each role of pharmacists and consumers regarding several aspects of SM, and collected respondents’ demographic information.<br><b>Results: </b>Of the 493 questionnaires mailed, 125 (25%) were returned.  Over 65% of respondents reported familiarity with the preexisting definitions of SM that include the healthcare professional’s role.  However, when asked to define SM in their own words, only 30% included the role of healthcare professionals.  Among respondents who were not engaged in SM-related research, education or promotion, only 24% included the healthcare professionals’ role.  Also, when asked to describe the concrete roles of both pharmacists and consumers, respondents wrote fewer comments on improving living habits, consulting about health concerns, and implementing self-checks than on serving consumers with over-the-counter drugs and health foods.<br><b>Conclusion: </b>The importance of reciprocal relationships in SM was not well recognized in our sample.  Our results suggest that it is imperative to disseminate information to raise healthcare professional’s recognition on the importance and clarification of some or all roles of theirs in SM.

Fibrin glue increases the cell survival and the transduced gene product secretion of the ceiling culture-derived adipocytes transplanted in mice

The development of clinically applicable scaffolds is important for the application of cell transplantation in various human diseases. The aims of this study are to evaluate fibrin glue in a novel protein replacement therapy using proliferative adipocytes and to develop a mouse model system to monitor the delivery of the transgene product into the blood and the fate of the transduced cells after transplantation. Proliferative adipocytes from mouse adipose tissue were transduced by a retroviral vector harboring the human lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (lcat) gene, and were subcutaneously transplanted into mice combined with fibrin glue. The lcat gene transduction efficiency and the subsequent secretion of the product in mouse adipocytes were enhanced using a protamine concentration of 500 microg/ml. Adipogenesis induction did not significantly affect the lcat gene-transduced cell survival after transplantation. Immunohistochemistry showed the ectopic enzyme production to persist for 28 days in the subcutaneously transplanted gene-transduced adipocytes. The increased viability of transplanted cells with fibrin glue was accompanied with the decrease in apoptotic cell death. The immunodetectable serum LCAT levels in mice implanted with the fibrin glue were comparable with those observed in mice implanted with Matrigel, indicating that the transplanted lcat gene-transduced adipocytes survived and functioned in the transplanted spaces with fibrin glue as well as with Matrigel for 28 days. Thus, this in vivo system using fibrin is expected to serve as a good model to further improve the transplanted cell/scaffold conditions for the stable and durable cell-based replacement of defective proteins in patients with LCAT deficiency.