PROCESS OF STANDARDIZATION OF ORAL MEDICATIONS FOR ADMINISTRATION VIA ENTERAL TUBE FOR MATERNAL AND CHILD UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Abstract

Adjustments of oral dosage forms for use through an enteral catheter is necessary due to the scarcity of formulations, especially for pediatric patients, patients with swallowing disorders and critical patients hospitalized in ICU. For this, a pharmacist should evaluate if the adaptation of the pharmaceutical dosage form is needed, and allowed, if there is no alternative therapeutic available and, in case of adaptability, to carry out the procedure. The study aimed to evaluate the standardization process of oral drugs that can be adapted for administration via the enteral tube. For this purpose, the Medication Standardization List of the Maternidade Escola Januário Cicco was used as the basis, and the consultation was conducted in the sources Micromedex, Dynamed, Handbook of Drug Administration via Enteral Feeding Tubes and Drugs. com. For sixty‑eight oral dosage forms (63 active principles), 76.47% could be adapted and administered by 
enteral catheter, and for 13.23% no data were found in the literature on the feasibility of adaptation of these dosage forms. Besides, 23.80% of medications had alternative routes of administration. Forty‑six drug‑food
possible interactions were detected, of which 15.22% were considered Important, 63.04% Moderate, and 21.74% were Minor/Secondary. Information on adaptations of pharmaceutical dosage forms for enteral
catheter administration is still scarce in the literature, and it is, therefore, essential to compile the available information about the subject, since failure to observe these can compromise patient safety.