Canberra, ACT, Australia Surface Contamination of Cytotoxic Drug 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) and Decontamination.

Wipe sampling of surfaces was carried out in the pharmacy compounding area and inpatient and outpatient wards of a South Australian public hospital administering cytotoxic drugs to clients. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) was chosen as an indicator cytotoxic drug as it was commonly used and administered in these areas of the hospital. 5-FU has been used to treat colon, rectal, breast and gastrointestinal cancers. We collected wipe samples from boxes and bottles of the 5-FU obtained from the pharmacy store and found that these were not contaminated with 5-FU. However, analysis of wipe samples indicated that most surfaces in the pharmacy compounding area, inpatient and outpatient wards were contaminated with 5-FU. These surfaces included phones, keyboards, chair arm rests, bench tops, door handles, PC mouse and fridge doors. The surfaces tested had been cleaned by the standard hospital protocols. Five different decontaminant agents were tested and only one, a 0.5 % w/v sodium hypochlorite solution, was found to be effective as a cleaning agent that rapidly breaks down the 5-FU and will also kill bacteria. Sampling of surfaces for 5-FU contamination post cleaning with 0.5% sodium hypochlorite found that this cleaning agent was effective in decontaminating the 5-FU contaminated surfaces