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Exploring the factors associated with difficulties in extracting tablets or capsules from press-through-package
Masami Tsuchiya1, Shungo Imai1, Masaki Asano1
1Division of Drug Informatics, Keio University Faculty of Pharmacy, Tokyo, Japan.
British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
|November 29, 2024
Summary
Many patients struggle to open medication packaging, with nearly 30% reporting difficulty removing pills. Female patients and those with hand weakness were more likely to experience these packaging challenges.
Area of Science:
- Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Patient Experience Research
Background:
- Optimizing drug dosage forms requires understanding factors affecting patient use.
- Difficulties in extracting medications from press-through-packaging (PTP) impact patient adherence and experience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify patient-reported difficulties with PTP packaging.
- To determine drug characteristics and patient factors associated with hard-to-push-out medications.
Main Methods:
- Utilized an electronic medication notebook ('harmo®') to collect patient preferences on PTP packaging.
- Analyzed dispensing data to identify specific drugs and patient demographics associated with extraction difficulties.
Main Results:
- Approximately 30% of patients reported difficulty removing tablets/capsules from PTP packaging.
- 125 drugs were identified as 'hard to push out'.
- Female sex and hand/finger weakness were independent factors associated with difficulty; spherical drug shape and small drug-to-pocket size ratio were also noted.
Conclusions:
- Patient insights are crucial for improving PTP packaging design.
- Addressing extraction difficulties can enhance patient medication experience and potentially improve adherence.
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