Autoinjector device for rapid administration of drugs and antidotes in emergency situations and in mass casualty management

Factors influencing self-management of adrenal crisis in patients with adrenal insufficiency: a qualitative study

Objective

Adrenal crisis is a life-threatening complication that requires urgent administration of parenteral hydrocortisone. Current patient education interventions remain ineffective, contributing to preventable hospitalisations and deaths. This study explored the lived experiences of individuals with adrenal insufficiency, focussing on the factors influencing self-management during adrenal crises.

Methods

This qualitative study employed online semi-structured interviews with adults with adrenal insufficiency who had experienced at least one adrenal crisis in the past 3 years. Participants were recruited via patient advocacy groups in the United Kingdom. Data were analysed using an inductive thematic approach, allowing themes to emerge directly from the data without imposing predetermined categories.

Results

Twelve themes, grouped into four overarching domains, captured individual experiences of managing adrenal crises: i) knowledge and experience; ii) tools and training; iii) psychological and emotional impact; and iv) support and dependence on others. Participants reported challenges including delayed diagnosis, difficulties recognising adrenal crisis symptoms and the complexity of the hydrocortisone injection process. However, prior experiences of adrenal crises, patient education and advocacy resources fostered greater confidence in self-management. Participants highlighted the need for simplified injection devices, clearer stress dosing guidelines, improved training for healthcare professionals and increased public awareness.

Conclusion

Findings from this qualitative study emphasise that effective adrenal crisis management requires patient-centred, evidence-based interventions focussing on education, healthcare professional training and public awareness. Simplified hydrocortisone delivery devices and systemic reforms are crucial to supporting self-management and minimising preventable hospitalisations and fatalities caused by adrenal crises.

Plain language summary

People with adrenal insufficiency face life-threatening emergencies called adrenal crises, which need urgent treatment with hydrocortisone injections. In this study, 12 people shared their struggles, including complex injection procedures, severe symptoms which made self-injection challenging and limited support to manage these crises effectively. Simpler injection devices, better information and improved training for healthcare staff could help people self-manage their condition better, prevent avoidable hospital admissions and save lives.

People With Adrenal Insufficiency Who Are in Adrenal Crisis Are Frequently Unable to Self-Administer Rescue Injections

OBJECTIVE

Individuals with adrenal insufficiency (AI) are at risk of acute adrenal crisis and death, particularly during illness or trauma, and may require rapid treatment with parenteral glucocorticoid such as hydrocortisone to manage a crisis. Current guidelines recommend timely self-injection in an evolving crisis. Little is known about the patient experience with emergency injections. We surveyed people with AI regarding success with emergency injections.

METHODS

In 2022 a survey was conducted through the National Adrenal Diseases Foundation website of individuals with AI or their caregivers about experience with managing an adrenal crisis. They reported on adrenal crisis events that required an emergency cortisol injection and the success or failure of the injection, context of the event and reasons for failure.

RESULTS

Nearly half (41%) of adrenal insufficient patients were unable to self-administer an emergency glucocorticoid injection, citing effects of their crisis-associated illness and confusion as major barriers. Failed injections led to bad outcomes (sicker, need for hospitalization, or death) in 36% of cases.

CONCLUSIONS

Effective, timely, management of an impending adrenal crisis can prevent progression to hospitalization, multisystem failure requiring intensive care unit care, and death. Reliance solely on patient self-injection may result in worse outcomes. Treating physicians should include patient education about injections and specific practical instruction in the technique, as well as the potential need for assistance in a crisis. US Food and Drug Administration approval of a glucocorticoid autoinjector, greater engagement with Emergency Medical Services clinicians, hospital emergency staff, and other health care professionals, is key for future success in managing adrenal crises.

Patient and caregiver experiences with hydrocortisone injections in adrenal crisis: a mixed-methods cross-sectional study

Background

Adrenal crisis is the leading cause of death in patients with adrenal insufficiency, and prevention requires immediate parenteral hydrocortisone administration. However, most patients do not receive their home emergency hydrocortisone injection. Our study aimed to investigate barriers and enablers to using emergency hydrocortisone injections in managing adrenal crises.

Methods

This mixed-methods observational study utilized an online survey distributed through two U.S.-based patient advocacy groups. A total of 688 respondents completed the survey, including 485 (70%) parents/caregivers of individuals with adrenal insufficiency and 203 (30%) adults with adrenal insufficiency. Qualitative free-text responses were analyzed using thematic content analysis, with subsequent quantification of identified barriers and enablers to administering parenteral hydrocortisone during adrenal crises.

Results

Over 60% of patients with adrenal insufficiency had required parenteral hydrocortisone for an adrenal crisis, yet fewer than 20% managed to self-inject. Thirteen barriers and nine enablers were identified across three thematic domains: device factors, external factors, and emotional factors. Key barriers included the complexity of the multi-step hydrocortisone injection process (81%), injection-related anxiety and lack of confidence (18%), challenges accessing the correct hydrocortisone formulation or equipment (38%), and inadequate support for managing adrenal crises (29%). Key enablers included the effectiveness of hydrocortisone (14%), the convenience of the combined powder-and-diluent hydrocortisone vial (36%), and patient education (4%). Notably, 97% of participants expressed a preference for a hydrocortisone autoinjector to enhance self-injection capabilities.

Conclusion

Effective adrenal crisis management requires comprehensive, evidence-based interventions across patient, healthcare, and societal levels. This should include the development of user-friendly hydrocortisone delivery devices, individualized patient education, healthcare system reforms, and public awareness.

Formative and validation human factors studies of a new disposable prefilled injection device for subcutaneous delivery of acthar gel (repository corticotropin injection)

BACKGROUND

The administration of repository corticotropin injection (Acthar Gel) via a single-dose prefilled injector (SelfJect) is intended to provide a simple, ergonomic alternative to traditional injection. Iterative human factors (HF) studies were conducted to identify potential use deviations and ensure appropriate device use.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

This article presents seven formative studies, a validation study (with prior pilot validation studies), and a supplemental validation study with participants including lay users, patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers. Participant interactions with SelfJect and the user interface were assessed. Use deviations, user preferences, and participants' ability to successfully complete tasks were evaluated to generate modifications to the device and user interface.

RESULTS

In the validation study, 91% of participants successfully administered their first injection. Use errors were rare with simulated-use (6.9%) and knowledge-based (1.6%) testing. Use deviations were commonly attributed to experimental artifact or information oversight, and device warming had the most use errors (49% of participants), even with extensive testing and adjustments to the user interface.

CONCLUSIONS

SelfJect was able to be used in a safe and effective manner by the intended users. Iterative HF studies informed the mitigation of use-related risks to reduce the occurrence of use deviations during simulated use.

The Reliability of Auto-Injectors in Clinical Use: A Systematic Review

Auto-injectors are medical devices designed for the self-administration of injections by patients and for easy administration by healthcare professionals in emergency situations. Although they vary in design and application, auto-injectors are typically built around a spring-loaded syringe. Despite their widespread use in a variety of clinical settings, there have been limited attempts to assess their reliability. This systematic review investigates the reliability of auto-injectors, identifies common causes of failure, and summarizes the overall rate of malfunction. A systematic review of research published on the PubMed and Cochrane Library databases was performed in July 2022. The relevant studies were assessed for their methodological quality and risk of bias prior to extracting key study outcomes on auto-injector reliability. Finally, a summary rate covering all eligible studies was calculated.  The search identified a total of 110 articles, of which ten were found to be suitable for inclusion. The risk of bias was low, and the methodological quality was high across the ten studies. Out of a total of 2,964 injections administered from an auto-injector, there were 12 device malfunctions, giving a summary rate of 0.40% (±0.23) auto-injector failures. The causes of malfunction varied in nature, with the majority of cases (58.3%) not being specified or not identified. This review has demonstrated that auto-injectors are reliable devices. Although further research on the nature of malfunctions is needed, the low rate of malfunctions supports training programs for healthcare professionals and patients on the optimum use and maintenance of auto-injectors. It provides a rationale for their continued development.

Customer-centric product presentations for monoclonal antibodies

Delivering customer-centric product presentations for biotherapeutics, such as monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), represents a long-standing and paramount area of engagement for pharmaceutical scientists. Activities include improving experience with the dosing procedure, reducing drug administration-related expenditures, and ultimately shifting parenteral treatments outside of a controlled healthcare institutional setting. In times of increasingly cost-constrained markets and reinforced with the coronavirus pandemic, this discipline of "Product Optimization" in healthcare has gained momentum and changed from a nice-to-have into a must. This review summarizes latest trends in the healthcare ecosystem that inform key strategies for developing customer-centric products, including the availability of a wider array of sustainable drug delivery options and treatment management plans that support dosing in a flexible care setting. Three disease area archetypes with varying degree of implementation of customer-centric concepts are introduced to highlight relevant market differences and similarities. Namely, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, and oncology have been chosen due to differences in the availability of subcutaneously dosed and ready-to-use self-administration products for mAb medicines and their follow-on biologics. Different launch scenarios are described from a manufacturer's perspective highlighting the necessity of platform approaches. To unfold the full potential of customer-centric care, value-based healthcare provider reimbursement schemes that incentivize the efficiency of care need to be broadly implemented.

Quantification of atropine sulphate monohydrate and obidoxime dichloride in two-chamber autoinjectors for accessing uniformity of dosage

In the treatment of organophosphate poisoning atropine sulphate monohydrate (AT) and obidoxime dichloride (OB) play a vital role. Currently, the Austrian Armed Forces use the DOUBLEPEN OA two-chamber autoinjector (ChemProtect) to administer these two drugs. The autoinjector is a part of military standard equipment as a "Basic CBRN-First Aid Kit" and contains OB and AT with a declared concentration of 220 mg/2 ml and 2 mg/2 ml, respectively. Especially in the two-chamber autoinjectors, it is highly possible that not all the content of the antidote solution is administered when the autoinjector is triggered. The purpose of the study was to analyze one hundred DOUBLEPEN OA autoinjectors from two different production batches (1707068 and 1707067) for volume loss, drug content and uniformity of dosage unit. Uniformity of dosage units, assessed by the content uniformity method (Chapter 2.9.40 of the European Pharmacopeia), requires the calculation of an acceptable value to quantify the uniformity of the drug product. An acceptance value for the first 10 dosage units of 15.0% or below is considered acceptable. The loss of volume was calculated by determining the density and mass of the solution after triggering the autoinjector. A quantitative high-performance liquid chromatography method has been developed and in-house validated for the determination of the content of two drugs. According to International Council for Harmonisation guidelines, the analytical method was proven to be accurate and repeatable. The obtained results show that the average loss of volume after injection was 5%, and the average content of OB and AT for batch 1707068, was 216.5 and 1.9 mg, while for batch 1707067 it was 224.2 and 2.0 mg, respectively. Although the loss of volume and content were observed, the calculated acceptance value for both production batches met the requirements of uniformity of dosage unit by the European Pharmacopeia.

Safety evaluation of antibacterial and analgesic autoinjector devices for rapid administration during emergency situations: a crossover study in rabbits

Objective:

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of autoinjector devices (AIDs) in rabbits by intramuscular (i.m.) administration, using haematological and biochemical markers.

Introduction:

Emergency and mass casualty situations require immediate drug delivery for which AIDs are preferred. The tolerability of amikacin as antibacterial and buprenorphine as analgesic AID has been studied in rats by intraperitoneal administration. In the present study, it was evaluated in rabbits by i.m. administration.

Methods:

Water-filled glass cartridges (2.3–2.4 mL) were converted to amikacin (106 mg/mL) and buprenorphine (0.128 mg/mL) cartridges. Dual dose AID was used for i.m. administration (1.2 mL). The study was done as a crossover design on 12 rabbits. Initially, three rabbits each were given manually or AID, 57 mg/kg amikacin, and three rabbits each by manual or by AID, 0.07 mg/kg buprenorphine for 7 days. After 1 month, the injections were changed in the rabbits. In the place of manual injection, AID and in the place of amikacin, buprenorphine injection was given. This ensured that all rabbits received 14 injections, 7 manual and 7 AID consisting of 7 amikacin and 7 buprenorphine. 24 h before and 24 h after last drug administrations, blood was withdrawn from ear vein for haematological and biochemical estimations.

Results:

The rabbits were healthy, active and no sign of any injection-related changes were observed after administration of amikacin and buprenorphine by manually or by AID. The haematological and biochemical parameters showed similar changes in manual and AID administration of amikacin and buprenorphine.

Conclusion:

The present study of amikacin and buprenorphine by AID shows the safety of the device and is recommended for further experimentation. These AIDs are intended for self-administration during emergency and mass causality situation and are suitable for adults and children, as well as farm and pet animals.

Autoinjector - A smart device for emergency cum personal therapy

Autoinjectors are self-injectable devices; they are important class of medical devices which can deliver drugs through subcutaneous or intramuscular route. They enclose prefilled syringes or cartridges which are driven by a spring system. The major benefits of this device are easy self-administration, improved patient compliance, reduced anxiety, and dosage accuracy. Immediate treatment during emergency conditions such as anaphylaxis, migraine, and status epilepticus or for chronic conditions like psoriasis, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis, Reformulation of first-generation biologics, technical advancements, innovative designs, patient compliance, overwhelming interest for self-administration all these made entry of more and more autoinjectors into use. In this review, intensive efforts have been made for exploring the different types of currently available autoinjectors for the management of emergency and chronic diseases.

Modulation of the sublingual microenvironment and pH-dependent transport pathways to enhance atropine sulfate permeability for the treatment of organophosphates poisoning

Atropine sulfate (AS) auto-injectors are the only approved antidote for out-of-hospital emergency treatment of organophosphates (OP) toxicity. However, they are only available for military use and require the administration of multiple auto-injectors. Therefore, an alternative, patient-friendly and more affordable fast-disintegrating sublingual tablets (FDSTs) of AS were previously developed. In this article, the effect of modifying the microenvironment's pH and/or using penetration enhancers on AS sublingual transport pathways were evaluated in an attempt to further enhance AS sublingual permeability. Ten different AS FDST formulations with or without the incorporation of alkalizer and various penetration enhancers were manufactured and characterized. AS permeability was investigated through excised porcine sublingual membrane using Franz cells. Results showed that the incorporation of either a transcellular enhancer or alkalizer achieved a significantly higher AS permeability enhancement (twofold). Combining sodium bicarbonate (Na Bicarb) 2% as alkalizer with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) 1% as a transcellular enhancer resulted in the greatest synergistic enhancement in AS sublingual permeability (up to twelvefold). In conclusion, the modified AS FDST developed in this work has the potential to improve the pharmacokinetic parameters of AS following sublingual administration for the first-aid treatment of OP toxicity in future animal bioequivalency studies.

Prefilled dual chamber devices (DCDs) - Promising high-quality and convenient drug delivery system

Prefilled dual chamber devices (DCDs) are combination products containing freeze-dried drug and diluent in two separate chambers of the device. DCDs provide high stability and convenience to patients and doctors, thus significantly improving product quality, patient compliance and market competitiveness. DCDs should also provide seal integrity, sterility and compatibility with biopharmaceuticals and avoid leachability and needle stick injuries. DCDs are promising alternatives to traditional containers or devices for biopharmaceuticals. The regulatory and medical practice to choose plastic DCDs as better alternatives over well-established glass syringes will be addressed here. The impact and major issues during processing, manufacturing, and storage of DCDs are also highlighted. Further discussion clears its business potential, composition, stability testing, and quality standard requirements to deal with market competition. It also covers major role of extractables and leachables in storage stability of the product.