Physical compatibility of nafamostat with analgesics, sedatives, and muscle relaxants for coronavirus disease treatment

Medication Safety in Intravenous Therapy: Compatibility of Etoposide with Frequently Drugs Used in Tumour Critical Care During Simulated Y-Site Administration

Objective

Etoposide is an antineoplastic agent widely used to treat pediatric and adult cancers. Critically ill patients are expected to receive several intravenous pharmaceutical drugs while admitted to hospitals. When compatibility data are available, intravenous drugs may be administered simultaneously through the Y-site. This study aimed to determine the compatibility of etoposide during simulated Y-site administration with 45 continuous-infusion drugs that are commonly administered in tumor critical care units.

Methods

Etoposide was diluted to a concentration of 0.25 mg/mL in 0.9% sodium chloride (NS) and other intravenously tested drugs were reconstituted according to the manufacturer's recommendations to the final clinical desired concentrations. Y-site administration was simulated in vitro by mixing 5 mL etoposide with other diluted intravenous medications under aseptic conditions in a 1:1 ratio. Compatible solutions were withdrawn at certain time intervals (0, 1, 2, 4 hours) after mixing and tested visually, using a Tyndall beam, pH, turbidity, insoluble particles, and UV absorption as measures of compatibility.

Results

Etoposide was compatible with 38 (84%) of the 45 drugs tested within four hours. Glutathione and human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor immediately showed incompatibility with etoposide. Within 1 h, four medications (cefuroxime sodium, ilaprazole sodium, mycophenolate, and xuebijing) were incompatible. Within 4 h, one medications (ceftazidime) were also found to be incompatible with etoposide under observation.

Conclusion

Seven of the 45 common medications in tumor critical care tested with etoposide were incompatible within 4 h. If co administration is inevitable and the drug is infused through a port catheter, a larger volume of saline (NS) or dextrose 5% in water (D5W) should be used to flush the port catheter before and after the etoposide infusion to clean the lumen of the port catheter.

Physical compatibility of Xuebijing injection with 53 intravenous drugs during simulated Y-site administration

OBJECTIVE

Xuebijing injection (XBJ) is a commonly used herbal medicine injection in China. However, the physical compatibility of XBJ with other intravenous drugs remains unclear. The purpose of this research is to evaluate physical compatibility of Xuebijing injection (XBJ) with 53 intravenous drugs (including 31 Chinese medicine injections and 22 chemicals) during simulated Y-site administration.

METHODS

Y-site administration was simulated in vitro by admixing 0.33 ml/ml XBJ with an equal volume of other diluted 53 intravenous drugs, respectively. Physical compatibility including visual inspection, Tyndall beam, particle limits, turbidity, pH, chromacity value, spectroscopic absorption of 550 nm and 420 nm (A550 nm and A420 nm) were observed and assessed at 0, 1, 2, and 4 h. Physical compatibility was defined as all solutions with no color changes, no gas evolution, particulate formation and no Tyndall beam within 4 hours, turbidity changes <0.5 nephelometric turbidity unit (NTU) compared to 0 h, particle limits allowed by the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (Ch.P) 2020 edition, pH changes <10% compared to 0, chromacity value changes <200 compared to 0 h, or photometrical changes of A420 nm <0.0400 or A550 nm <0.0100 compared to 0 h.

RESULTS

XBJ was physically incompatible with 27 of the 53 intravenous drugs tested, 26 were compatible with XBJ for 4 h.

CONCLUSIONS

XBJ should not be simultaneously co-administered with 27 of the 53 intravenous drugs during simulated Y-site. If coadministration was inevitable, flushing tube with NS or D5W before and after infusion of XBJ was needed. Assessment included visual inspection, Tyndall beam, turbidity measurement, particle counts, pH measurement, chromacity value measurement and absorption of A550 nm were proved to be valid and robust for the quality control of infusion and compatibility of Chinese herbal injection.

Y-site Injection Physical Compatibility of Remdesivir with Select Intravenous Drugs Used in Palliative Care and for Treating Coronavirus Disease 2019

BACKGROUND

No compatibility tests are available for remdesivir other than 0.9% sodium chloride. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the physical compatibility of remdesivir with drugs used in palliative care and COVID-19 treatment.

METHODS

Remdesivir was tested for compatibility with 10 different drugs (fentanyl, morphine, hydromorphone, oxycodone, heparin, furosemide, octreotide, acetated Ringer's injection, 2-in-1 peripheral parenteral nutrition, and 2-in-1 total parenteral nutrition). Remdesivir was formulated to a final concentration of 1 mg/mL, and the other drugs were prepared at clinical concentrations. Three test solutions were used for compatibility testing, with remdesivir and the target drugs compounded in a 1:1 ratio. Appearance measurements, including Tyndall effect, turbidity, and pH, were performed immediately after mixing and at 1 h and 4 h after mixing. Changes in appearance, including the Tyndall effect, turbidity (turbidity change of ≥ 0.5 nephelometric turbidity unit [NTU] based on control solution for each test drug), and pH (a change of ≥ 10% based on the pH immediately after mixing) were used to determine physical compatibility.

RESULTS

All the drugs tested were compatible with remdesivir. The combination of remdesivir and furosemide produced the highest turbidity (0.23 ± 0.03 NTU) 1 h after mixing. The lowest and highest pH values were observed at 4 h after mixing for the combinations of remdesivir and morphine (3.23 ± 0.02) and remdesivir and furosemide (8.81 ± 0.06).

CONCLUSIONS

The drugs tested in this study show Y-site physical compatibility with remdesivir.