The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the US government’s occupational health research agency, has published an updated dangerous drugs listing to accompany its guide to the hazards posed to healthcare workers by the medicines they administer.
The new list is a supplement to its 2004 guide ‘Preventing occupational exposures to antineoplastic and other hazardous drugs in health care settings’.

In the introduction to the updated drugs list, NIOSH notes: “Hazardous drugs include those used for cancer chemotherapy, antiviral drugs, hormones, some bioengineered drugs, and other miscellaneous drugs.”

It adds: “The actual risk to health care workers depends on what is done with the drugs - how they are manipulated, how often they are handled, and what type of engineering controls and personal protective equipment (PPE) are used.”