Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-25-2017

Keywords

fsc2017

Department

Pharmacy

Abstract

Objective: There is limited information on compounded apixaban formulations for administration via enteral feeding tubes. This study was designed to identify a suitable apixaban suspension formulation that is easy to prepare in a pharmacy setting, is compatible with commonly used feeding tubes, and has a beyond-use date of seven days.

Methods: Apixaban suspensions were prepared from commercially available 5 mg Eliquis® tablets. Several vehicles and compounding methods were screened for ease of preparation, dosage accuracy, and tube compatibility. Two tubing types, polyurethane and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), with varying lengths and diameters, were included in the study. They were mounted on a peg board during evaluation to mimic the patient body position. A seven-day stability study of the selected formulation was also conducted.

Results: Vehicles containing 40-60% Ora-Plus® in water all exhibited satisfactory flowability through the tubes. The mortar/pestle compounding method was found to produce more accurate and consistent apixaban suspensions than the pill crusher or crushing syringe method. The selected formulation, 0.25 mg/mL apixaban in 50:50 Ora-Plus®:water, was compatible with both tubing types, retaining > 98% drug in post-tube samples. The stability study also confirmed that this formulation was stable physically and chemically over seven days of storage at room temperature.

Conclusions: A suitable apixaban suspension formulation was identified for administration via enteral feeding tubes. The formulation consisted of 0.25 mg/mL apixaban in 50:50 Ora-Plus®:water. The stability study results supported a beyond-use date of seven days at room temperature.

DOI

10.1177/0018578717720507

Comments

Maria L. Caraballo, Seda Donmez, Kobi Nathan, Fang Zhao. Compounded Apixaban Suspensions for Enteral Feeding Tubes, Hospital Pharmacy Vol 52, Issue 7, pp. 478 - 482. Copyright © 2017 SAGE Publications. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.

The final published version of the article is available here: https://doi.org/10.1177/0018578717720507

Additional Files

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