Quantitative analysis of drug losses administered via nasogastric tube--In vitro study.
- Resource Type
- Academic Journal
- Authors
- Ruzsíková A; Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic; International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic.; Součková L; Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic; Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.; Suk P; Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic; Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.; Opatřilová R; Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic.; Kejdušová M; Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic.; Šrámek V; Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic; Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. Electronic address: vladimir.sramek@fnusa.cz.
- Source
- Publisher: Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 7804127 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1873-3476 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 03785173 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Int J Pharm Subsets: MEDLINE
- Subject
- Language
- English
Purpose: Drug administration through nasogastric tube (NGT) is a standard practice but the real amount of the delivered drug is unknown. Therefore, we designed a study to determine the losses of various dosage forms administered by different methods through NGT.
Methods: In vitro model was used. Five different administration methods (A-E) and six dosage forms (simple compressed tablets - T/S; film coated tablets - T/FC; enteric coated tablets - T/EC; capsules with powder filling - C/P; capsules containing extended release pellets - C/ER; capsules containing gastro-resistant pellets - C/GR) were investigated. Measurement was repeated six times for each drug-method combination. The overall losses were determined by gravimetry. In method A partial losses associated with each step of drug administration were also determined.
Results: Significant drug losses were measured (4-38%). Only methods A (crushing-beaker-syringe-water-NGT) and B (crushing-water-syringe-NGT) were suitable for administration of all tested dosage forms. Method B proved the most effective for all kinds of tablets and C/GR (p<0.05) and tended to be more effective also for C/ER (p=0.052) compared to method A. C/P showed minimal losses for both tested methods (B and E). Flushing of the drug through NGT causes major losses during drug administration compared to crushing and transfer (p<0.05). All methods for intact pellets (C-E) were found inappropriate for clinical practice due to NGT clogging.
Conclusions: Choosing a suitable administration method can significantly affect the amount of drugs delivered through NGT.
(Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)