The ASCO-ONS Antineoplastic Therapy Administration Safety Standards for Adult and Pediatric Oncology (Siegel et al., 2024) endorse performing independent double checks prior to the administration of any antineoplastic, including immunotherapy and biologics. As part of the verification, the following should be checked prior to administration:
- Drug name
- Drug dose
- The calculation for dosing, including the variables used in this calculation
- Infusion volume or drug volume when prepared in a syringe
- Route of administration
- Rate of administration
- Expiration dates/or times
- Appearance and physical integrity of the drugs
- Rate set on infusion pump, when used
- The calculation for dosing, including the variables used in this calculation
- Treatment cycle and day of cycle
Of note, it does not have to be two nurses who perform the verifications. Any two professionals who are competent to prepare or administer antineoplastics in the institution may perform these verifications. Therefore, it can be a combination of two nurses, one nurse and one pharmacist, or any other professional with this competency validation.
References:
Siegel, R.D., LeFebvre, K.B., Temin, S., Evers, A., Barbarotta, L., Bowman, R.M., Chan, A., Dougherty, D.W., Ganio, M., Hunter, B., Klein, M., Miller, T.P., Mulvey, T.M., Ouzts, A., Polovich, M., Salazar-Abshire, M., Sydenstricker, C.M., & Tsai, S. (2024). Antineoplastic therapy administration safety standards for adult and pediatric oncology: ASCO-ONS standards. Oncology Nursing Forum, 51(3), 1-24. DOI: 10.1188/24.ONF.1-24.AP
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