Inappropriate crushing information on ward lists: cytotoxic drugs, capsules, and modified release formulations are gravely neglected.

purposeThe aim of this study was to assess the quality of the information sources on the modification of solid medication dosage forms (crushing, suspending) used on the wards of a large university hospital in Germany.

methodsWe performed on-site visits of all 79 wards of the hospital and collected available sources of information on the modification of solid medication dosage forms. To evaluate the quality of such information, we gathered reference information for each listed brand from the respective pharmaceutical company, transferred this information to a knowledge base, and classified it into three categories, i.e., modification not allowed, modification allowed, and modification allowed under certain circumstances.

resultsTwenty-two lists of information on drug modification were identified in the 79 wards. Each list contained errors, and on average 17.0 % (range 8.0-32.3 %) of the brands listed had been withdrawn from the market or the information on crushing and/or suspending was inappropriate. Most of the incorrect information either concerned brands containing ingredients that were potentially hazardous to the staff members who prepared the drugs or referred to special dosage forms such as capsules and modified release formulations (e.g., cytotoxic drugs).

conclusionWe found that the lists posted on the wards were often outdated and did not take into account the limitations/problems of preparing drugs on the ward. Our results emphasize that lists posted in wards need to be checked regularly and that "ready-to-use" lists from third parties might require adaptation to site-specific conditions in order to protect healthcare staff from exposure to potentially hazardous drugs during drug preparation and ensure safe drug application to the patient.