Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27704404›Full record

ArticlePaediatric drugs2016

Tablet Splitting of Antiepileptic Drugs in Pediatric Epilepsy: Potential Effect on Plasma Drug Concentrations.

Ravi Prasad Nidanapu, Sundaram Rajan, Subramanian Mahadevan, Batmanabane Gitanjali

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Article in Paediatric drugs, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
3.9field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Ravi Prasad NidanapuDepartment of Pharmacology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Dhanvantri Nagar, Puducherry, 605 006, India.
Sundaram RajanDepartment of Pharmacology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Dhanvantri Nagar, Puducherry, 605 006, India.
Subramanian MahadevanDepartment of Pediatrics, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, 605 006, India.
Batmanabane GitanjaliDepartment of Pharmacology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Dhanvantri Nagar, Puducherry, 605 006, India. gitabatman@gmail.com.
Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research · IN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionTablet splitting is the process of dividing a tablet into portions to obtain a prescribed dose of medication. Very few studies have investigated whether split parts of a tablet deliver the expected amount of drug to patients.

objectiveOur objectives were to evaluate the split parts of adult-dose tablet formulations for percentage of weight deviation, weight uniformity, weight loss, drug content, and the content uniformity of four antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) prescribed to pediatric patients. We also measured AED plasma concentrations in the children.

methodsWe chose to study first-line AEDs (phenytoin sodium [PHE], sodium valproate [SVA], carbamazepine, and phenobarbitone) as they are routinely prescribed in India. We asked caregivers to perform the same splitting process they follow in their homes on three whole tablets during their routine visit to the outpatient department. After caregivers split the tablets, we studied the weight and content of the split parts. We also used high-performance liquid chromatography to study plasma drug concentrations in children who had received split AEDs for at least 4 months.

resultsA total of 168 caregivers participated in the study, and we analyzed 1098 split tablet parts. In total, 539 (49.0 %) split parts were above the specified limit of the 2010 Indian Pharmacopeia (IP) acceptable percentage weight deviation (PHE 169 [48.8 %], SVA 187 [51.9 %], carbamazepine 56 [41.1 %], phenobarbitone 127 [49.6 %]); 456 (41.5 %) split parts were outside the proxy IP specification for drug content (PHE 135 [39.0 %], SVA 140 [38.8 %], carbamazepine 51 [37.5 %], phenobarbitone 130 [50.7 %]), and 253 split parts were outside the acceptable content uniformity range of <85 % and >115 % (PHE 85 [24.5 %], SVA 98 [27.2 %], carbamazepine 14 [10.2 %], phenobarbitone 56 [21.8 %]). In total, 130 (72.2 %) patients had plasma drug concentrations outside the therapeutic range (PHE 36 [72.0 %], SVA 39 [78.0 %], carbamazepine 34 [68.0 %], phenobarbitone 21 [70.0 %]).

conclusionsSplitting adult-dosage formulations of AEDs results in patients not receiving the optimal dose. Plasma drug concentrations are also not optimal. Pediatric dosage formulations should be preferred to splitting adult-dosage formulations in pediatric epilepsy.

Indexed as

Chemistry, PharmaceuticalAnticonvulsantsChildChild, PreschoolEpilepsyFemaleHumansInfantMalePediatricsTabletsAnticonvulsantsTablets

Identifiers

PMID27704404
OpenAlexW2528302134

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.