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Tablet-splitting: a common yet not so innocent practice

Charlotte Verrue, Els Mehuys (UGent) , Koen Boussery (UGent) , Jean Paul Remon (UGent) and Mirko Petrovic (UGent)
(2011) JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING. 67(1). p.26-32
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Organization
Abstract
Aim. This paper is a report of a study conducted to quantify (i) the mean deviation from theoretical weight and (ii) the mean weight loss, after tablet-splitting with three different, commonly used splitting methods. Background. Tablet-splitting is a widespread practice among all sectors of health care for different reasons: it increases dose flexibility, makes tablet parts easier to swallow and allows cost savings for both patients and healthcare providers. However, the tablet parts obtained are often not equal in size, and a substantial amount of tablet can be lost during splitting. Method. Five volunteers were asked to mimic the situation in nursing homes and to split eight tablets of different sizes and shapes using three different routine methods: (i) with a splitting device (Pilomat (R)), (ii) with scissors for unscored tablets or manual splitting for scored tablets and (iii) with a kitchen knife. Before and after splitting, tablets and tablet parts were weighed using an analytical balance. The data were collected in 2007. Results. For all tablets, method 1 gave a statistically significantly lower mean deviation from theoretical weight. The difference between method 2 and method 3 was not statistically significant. When pooling the different products, method 1 also induced significantly less weight loss than the two other methods. Conclusion. Large dose deviations or weight losses can occur while splitting tablets. This could have serious clinical consequences for medications with a narrow therapeutic-toxic range. On the basis of the results in this report, we recommend use of a splitting device when splitting cannot be avoided.
Keywords
tablet-splitting, weight deviations, practice guideline, Keywords: nursing, nursing homes

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Citation

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MLA
Verrue, Charlotte, et al. “Tablet-Splitting: A Common yet Not so Innocent Practice.” JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, vol. 67, no. 1, 2011, pp. 26–32, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05477.x.
APA
Verrue, C., Mehuys, E., Boussery, K., Remon, J. P., & Petrovic, M. (2011). Tablet-splitting: a common yet not so innocent practice. JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, 67(1), 26–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05477.x
Chicago author-date
Verrue, Charlotte, Els Mehuys, Koen Boussery, Jean Paul Remon, and Mirko Petrovic. 2011. “Tablet-Splitting: A Common yet Not so Innocent Practice.” JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING 67 (1): 26–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05477.x.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Verrue, Charlotte, Els Mehuys, Koen Boussery, Jean Paul Remon, and Mirko Petrovic. 2011. “Tablet-Splitting: A Common yet Not so Innocent Practice.” JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING 67 (1): 26–32. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05477.x.
Vancouver
1.
Verrue C, Mehuys E, Boussery K, Remon JP, Petrovic M. Tablet-splitting: a common yet not so innocent practice. JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING. 2011;67(1):26–32.
IEEE
[1]
C. Verrue, E. Mehuys, K. Boussery, J. P. Remon, and M. Petrovic, “Tablet-splitting: a common yet not so innocent practice,” JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, vol. 67, no. 1, pp. 26–32, 2011.
@article{1187088,
  abstract     = {{Aim. This paper is a report of a study conducted to quantify (i) the mean deviation from theoretical weight and (ii) the mean weight loss, after tablet-splitting with three different, commonly used splitting methods.
Background. Tablet-splitting is a widespread practice among all sectors of health care for different reasons: it increases dose flexibility, makes tablet parts easier to swallow and allows cost savings for both patients and healthcare providers. However, the tablet parts obtained are often not equal in size, and a substantial amount of tablet can be lost during splitting.
Method. Five volunteers were asked to mimic the situation in nursing homes and to split eight tablets of different sizes and shapes using three different routine methods: (i) with a splitting device (Pilomat (R)), (ii) with scissors for unscored tablets or manual splitting for scored tablets and (iii) with a kitchen knife. Before and after splitting, tablets and tablet parts were weighed using an analytical balance. The data were collected in 2007.
Results. For all tablets, method 1 gave a statistically significantly lower mean deviation from theoretical weight. The difference between method 2 and method 3 was not statistically significant. When pooling the different products, method 1 also induced significantly less weight loss than the two other methods.
Conclusion. Large dose deviations or weight losses can occur while splitting tablets. This could have serious clinical consequences for medications with a narrow therapeutic-toxic range. On the basis of the results in this report, we recommend use of a splitting device when splitting cannot be avoided.}},
  author       = {{Verrue, Charlotte and Mehuys, Els and Boussery, Koen and Remon, Jean Paul and Petrovic, Mirko}},
  issn         = {{0309-2402}},
  journal      = {{JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING}},
  keywords     = {{tablet-splitting,weight deviations,practice guideline,Keywords: nursing,nursing homes}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{26--32}},
  title        = {{Tablet-splitting: a common yet not so innocent practice}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05477.x}},
  volume       = {{67}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}

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