Objectives To determine whether practitioners had implemented WHO recommended safety practices for intravenous (IV) vincristine administration in Shanghai.

Methods A questionnaire, which mainly included WHO recommendations on safe practices for IV vincristine administration, was distributed to 73 hospitals to obtain information regarding the current practice in Shanghai. The association between hospital information and implementation of the recommendations on vincristine was evaluated using logistic regression and univariate analyses.

Results Fifty-nine hospitals provided effective feedback on the questionnaire. The results indicated that compliance with recommendations, such as vincristine doses diluted in an IV minibag, double-checked before dispensing and independently double-checked by another pharmacist after preparation, were all >80%. However, for rules such as packaging intrathecal (IT) medications differently from IV vincristine, over-wrapping IV vincristine with a special warning, administering IT medications before dispensing IV vincristine and providing the medical staff with related education and training, the compliance rates were <40%. The results also showed that the main related factors affecting standardised operations included the classification of the hospital, whether a Pharmacy Intravenous Admixture Service (PIVAS) was established and the type of medical orders. Establishment of a PIVAS did not demonstrate a significantly positive role in the implementation of vincristine safety measures.

Conclusions This survey provides basic information about the adoption rate of safe medication practice recommendations related to vincristine administration in Shanghai. Further work addressing barriers in implementing identified safe practice recommendations should be conducted.