RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the cost of preparing cytostatic drugs in the intravenous preparation unit in a hospital in Mexico. METHOD: The annual cost of preparing cytostatic drugs based on the information of 92 days, considering the costs of drugs, the mixing service (including standard solution, quality control, services and waste) and salaries were estimated. The costs are estimated in Mexican pesos in 2006. RESULTS: The cost per cytostatic drug varies from 82 to 23,000 Mexican pesos, depending on the type of drug used. It is estimated that the annual cost of preparing drugs for chemotherapy is 38,901,231.04 Mexican pesos (2,839,505.02 euro) distributed as follows: 96.8% for drug costs, 1.21% for staff salaries and 1.99% for the preparation service. CONCLUSIONS: The estimation of the costs of preparing cytostatic drugs serves as a reference for future economic studies in the hospital pharmacy area in Mexico.