Tag: Hazardous drug

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), clozapine is categorized as a hazardous drug. This classification stems from its potential for serious adverse effects, and answering the question, **is clozapine a hazardous drug?**, requires understanding these risks and the necessary handling precautions for healthcare professionals and patients.

An estimated 2.9 million people live with multiple sclerosis (MS) worldwide, many of whom rely on disease-modifying therapies. This raises a critical question for one such treatment: **Is Ocrevus a hazardous drug?** The answer involves understanding its classification, risks, and handling protocols.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a drug is classified as hazardous if it exhibits one or more characteristics like carcinogenicity or reproductive toxicity. This answers **why is methimazole considered a hazardous drug?**: it poses significant reproductive and developmental risks.

While most patients take valacyclovir without incident, healthcare professionals handling the raw powdered form of the drug must observe special precautions due to its classification as a "hazardous chemical" by OSHA under specific conditions. This classification highlights important distinctions between consumer use and occupational exposure risks.

According to Safety Data Sheets, deferasirox is categorized as a hazardous chemical, requiring specific precautions for handling by healthcare workers,. Beyond occupational risks, the iron chelator also carries significant potential for serious, and sometimes fatal, adverse effects in patients, demanding rigorous clinical monitoring during treatment,.

Over 46,000 organ transplants are performed in the U.S. each year, with tacrolimus being a key medication to prevent rejection. Due to its powerful effect on the immune system, tacrolimus is considered hazardous and requires careful management to mitigate its serious risks.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) officially classifies cyclosporine as a hazardous drug, leading to confusion for those prescribed Restasis, the ophthalmic emulsion containing cyclosporine. While the systemic form of the medication carries significant health risks, the ophthalmic version, Restasis, poses minimal systemic risk to the patient when used correctly. The 'hazardous' label primarily applies to the raw drug substance and its handling in a healthcare setting, not to the patient's routine eye drop application.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) includes topiramate on its list of hazardous drugs due to several serious health risks associated with exposure. Understanding why topiramate is considered a hazardous drug is crucial for patient safety, proper handling, and mitigating potential harm to both patients and healthcare workers.

In November 2024, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified voriconazole as "carcinogenic to humans" (Group 1) [1.2.2]. This raises the critical question for healthcare professionals and patients: is voriconazole a hazardous drug and what precautions are necessary?

According to the National Toxicology Program, cyclosporine is a known human carcinogen and a hazardous drug, which is a major reason why shouldn't you touch cyclosporine. Unintended skin exposure can lead to systemic absorption, potentially causing significant and widespread toxic effects throughout the body.