A Simplified Method for Compounding Lidocaine Topical Gel: A Demonstration of Quality Assurance to Prevent Errors in...

Quality assurance is a key element in the process of creating safe and effective preparations. Furthermore, the implementation of quality-assurance measures allows 503A pharmacies to ensure accurate, well-made preparations to their customers. When corrective and preventive measures are not implemented, the risk of errors is increased, like subtherapeutic or supratherapeutic compounded medications. The objective of this article was to demonstrate the importance of quality assurance through the development and validation of the compounding method, preparation characterization, training, implementation of a master formulation record, compounding protocol, and verification to prevent compounding errors. Two groups, comprising of 10 students, compounded lidocaine gel following the quality-assurance guidelines in accordance with United States Pharmacopeia Chapter <1163>. Following the trial, the preparations from both groups were tested to evaluate the content of lidocaine using high-performance liquid chromatography and an ultra-viscosity detector. The study results indicated that the newly developed, validated procedure produced a stable, uniform, highly reproducible (%Assay ± SD; 101.65% ± 1.04), and elegant (clear hydro-alcoholic gel) preparation with a high yield (~98.5%). There was no significant difference observed in the %Assay results obtained from the two groups (%Assay ±SD; P1: 98.76% ±1.01, and P2: 99.02% ±1.39, %Difference: 0.3). Overall, our findings suggest that the implementation of quality assurance could significantly reduce compounding errors and improve both preparation quality and patient safety.