Analysis of disposal and reuse of antineoplastic and supportive drugs in an oncology reference institution

Abstract

Introduction

Reuse of antineoplastic and supportive drugs can reduce costs by cutting down the amount of chemotherapy drug waste generated. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the disposal and reuse of preparations which contain these two pharmaceutical classes.

Methods

This is a prospective study conducted with pediatric and adult patients who did not undergo one or more chemotherapy session between July and November of 2024. The chemotherapy preparations were classified as reused or discarded and quantified. The reasons for drug disposal and patient's sociodemographic data were also analyzed.

Results

One hundred and forty patients composed the studied population, all of them responsible for 188 missed chemotherapy sessions. The study's population is predominately adult, male, residing at Rio de Janeiro city and with less than 12 years of education. Almost half of the population (47.9%) had one or more comorbidity. The most prevalent tumors were those of the digestive system (40.1%). The drug disposal rate was 2.11%. The chemotherapy suspension rate was higher (66.3%) than non-attendance (32.6%). The patient's worsening clinical condition was the main reason (45.2%) that led to chemotherapy suspension, while miscommunication (37.1%) was the main reason attributed to non-attendance. Oxaliplatin was the most discarded drug whereas vincristine was the most reused drug.

Conclusions

Rate of chemotherapeutic drug disposal is higher than their reuse. Although session suspension and non-attendance are caused by different reasons, both can be reduced by implementation of an effective communication routine between patient and provider in the days prior to the scheduled session.