General Health Problems among Oncology Nurses Handling Antineoplastic Agents: A Comparative Study

Background: The antineoplastic drugs pose an occupational hazard to nurses. The General
Health problems have not been addressed in the literature although they might provide early
indicators for safety of nurses. Aim: to compare general health problems among oncology
nurses handling antineoplastic agents and those in other departments not dealing with these
hazardous exposures. Setting & sample: Retrospective study was conducted on 50 nurses in
the oncology department at the nuclear medicine centre, and 50 control nurses from the
departments of ophthalmology and orthopedic at El-kasr El Aini hospital. Tool: A selfadministered
questionnaire covering personal data, menstrual and reproductive history, and
general health problems, and assessment of exposure to antineoplastic agents in exposed
nurses was used for data collection. Results: More exposed nurses suffered dysfunctional
bleeding (p=0.006), and menorrhagia (p=0.005), especially with no identified causes. The
Odds Ratios (ORs) ranged between 2.7 for irregularity to 7.4 for dysfunctional bleeding. They
had more dysuria (p=0.03), dermatitis (p=0.01), and stomatitis (p<0.001), with ORs 2.5 to
4.9. Menstrual problems increased with the duration of exposure, with ORs 4.3 for bleeding
and 16.7 for menorrhagia, and significant positive correlations. Conclusion: The study
confirms the hazardous effects of nurses' occupational exposure to antineoplastic agents on
general health. Recommendations: The findings corroborate the need of health education
program to maintain safety measures, medical examinations for nursing staff prior to their
appointment and Periodic screening for early detection of any deviations from normal, with
prompt occupational health intervention.