Which is the most appropriate safe-handling practice when caring for a child who received chemo within the last 24 hours?

• A. No precautions are necessary after the infusion is complete
• B. Document the amount of urine voided at least every 2 hours
• C. Institute universal precautions when handling the patient's body fluids
• D. Discard leak-proof pads and diapers in the trash

Answer: (C)

The main idea is protecting caregivers from hazardous chemotherapy by applying universal precautions to any body fluids from a patient who has recently received chemo. Cytotoxic drugs can be excreted in urine, stool, vomit, saliva, and other secretions for a time after treatment, often within the first 24 hours and beyond. Because of that, treating all body fluids as potentially hazardous and using barrier protection every time you handle them keeps you safe. This means wearing gloves when in contact with body fluids or contaminated items, using appropriate protective barriers, practicing good hand hygiene after removing gloves, and disposing of contaminated materials, like linens or pads, in leak-proof bags following facility policy.

This approach is better than assuming no precautions are needed after the infusion, which would expose you to potential hazards, or focusing on documenting urine output, which addresses only monitoring rather than safety. It’s also more appropriate than discarding contaminated pads in regular trash, since proper containment and disposal of cytotoxic waste are essential to prevent exposure.