Document Type : Original Article
Authors
- . Sousan Valizadeh 1
- . Mehri Rasekhi 1
- . Hamed Hamishehkar 2
- . Malihe Asadollahi 1
- . Hadi Hamishehkar 2
1 Department of Pediatrics Nursing, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
2 Drug Applied Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Abstract
Objective: Considering the inability of neonates to swallow oral drugs in the form of solid
tablets, the lack of appropriate dosage forms for infants, and the necessity to prepare some
pills for neonates, the current study investigated dosage accuracy in drugs for neonates
prepared from tablets by analyzing the concentrations of final products.
Methods: Captopril and spironolactone, oral dosage forms that are not suitable for infants,
were chosen as the drug model for this study. Demographic characteristics of nurses providing
medications and tablet preparation methods were documented in a random observational
method. To determine concentrations of final solutions, 120 drug samples (60 captopril
and 60 spironolactone samples) prepared by Neonatal Intensive Care Unit nurses of the
Children Cure and Health Hospital of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences were analyzed
using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and spectrophotometry.
Findings: There was a significant error rate in the concentration of captopril in prepared
solutions compared with the ordered dosage. No differences were observed in the
demographic characteristics of the nurses and the method of preparation between the
two drugs. The only difference related to the preparation technique was that in most
cases (70.8%), one whole spironolactone tablet was used, whereas in around 50% of samples
in captopril group, half or a quarter of one captopril tablet was utilized for the intended
dosage (P = 0.009).
Conclusion: This research suggests that the use of a whole tablet instead of a divided
tablet in the manual preparation of medication dosage forms for neonates is the most
appropriate approach.
Keywords
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