Development, evaluation and data acquired with a tape-stripping technique for measuring dermal exposure to budesonide at a pharmaceutical manufacturing site.

Objectives: Although corticosteroids have been used for over 50 years as anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative agents, few studies have examined their exposure levels and health effects on workers employed in the corticosteroid manufacturing industry. The aims of the study reported here were to develop a tape-stripping technique for monitoring budesonide (a corticosteroid used in inhalators for treating respiratory diseases) and to apply the method in a pilot study to estimate the potential dermal exposure to budesonide among workers at a pharmaceutical formulation site.

Methods: The tape-stripping method was evaluated by applying 0.5 and 2.07 microg of budesonide dissolved in ethanol on tape strips. The same amounts were also applied on a cleaned glass plate and human skin of volunteers, which were then stripped by series of tapes immediately, and 30 min later, the amounts collected by the tapes were measured. Finally, the technique was used to study the exposure of budesonide among eight employees at a pharmaceutical industry site. Three exposure sites were tested: the tip of the forefinger, palm of the hand and ventral part of the lower arm. Five consecutive tape strips per sampling site were used in both the recovery studies and the field study.

Results: The mean overall recoveries from spiked tapes and the glass plate were 96 and 81%, respectively, while for human skin the corresponding figure was 38%, (for applications of 2.07 microg; no detectable amounts were recovered from human skin after 0.5 microg applications). The recovered amount was found on two consecutive tapes after 0 min, but only on the first tape strip after 30 min. The inter-individual variability was 4-fold. In the field, quantifiable amounts were found for four of eight employees and a concentration gradient was detected along the two or three consecutive tape strips. The tip of the forefinger and the palm of the hand were the most highly exposed sites to budesonide.

Conclusions: A tape-stripping method can be used to determine potential dermal exposure to budesonide. The results also indicate that budesonide is taken up by the skin of operators who are exposed to the substance at their workplace.