Oral Dosage Drugs that should not be crushed. Certain dosages may be crushed if have difficulty swallowing or have nasogastric tubes.

Oral Dosages that should not be crushed

The medications which should not be crushed fall into one of the following categories

• Extended-Release Product.The formulation of some tablets is specialized as to allow the medication within it to be slowly relased into the body. This is sometimes accomplished by centering the drug within the core of the tablet, with a subsequent shedding of multiple layers around the core. Wax melts in the GI tract. Capsules may contain beads which have multiple layers which are slowly dissolved with time
• Medications Which Are Irritating to the Stomach.Tablets which are irritating to the stomach may be entereic coated which delays release of the drug until the time when it reaches the small intestine. Enteric-coated aspirin is an example of this.
• Foul Tasting Medication.Some drugs are quite unpleasant in their taste and the manufacturer, to increase their palatability will coat the tablet in a sugar coating. By crushing the tablet, this sugar coating is lost and may taste the unpleasant tasting medication.
• Sublingual Medication.Medication intended for use under the tongue should not be crushed. While it appears to be obvious, it is not always easy to determine if a medication is to be used sublingually. Sublingual medications should indicate on the package that they are intended for sublingual use.
• Effervescent Tablets.These are tablets which, when dropped into a liquid quickly dissolve to yield a solution. Many effervescent tablets, when crushed, lose their ability to quickly dissolve.

Recommendations

1. It is not advisable to crush certain dosage formulations
2. Consult pharmacist, individual package inserts or monographs prior to crushing capsule or tablet
3. If crushing a tablet or capsule is contraindicated and oral solution formulation is unavailable, consult compounding pharmacist to determine whether an orla solution can be compound.

(Added: 1-Feb-2008 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It
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