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Journal of Current Ophthalmology 2023To review current eyedrop instillation techniques, common difficulties faced by patients instilling eyedrops, available eyedrop assistive devices, and patient education... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE
To review current eyedrop instillation techniques, common difficulties faced by patients instilling eyedrops, available eyedrop assistive devices, and patient education regarding eyedrop instillation.
METHODS
PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar were searched from conception until June 2022 for articles on eyedrop instillation difficulties, techniques, tools, and patient education.
RESULTS
Instillation involves pulling down the lower eyelids and placing drops on the corneal surface or conjunctival fornix, followed by closing of the eyelids for about 1 min. Examples of techniques include eyelid closure and nasolacrimal obstruction techniques. Patients encounter many difficulties when administering eyedrops, including but not limited to poor visibility, squeezing the dropper bottle, aiming the bottle, and accidentally blinking. However, devices are available that assist with aim and dropper compression-force reduction in eyedrop instillation. These can be particularly useful in patient demographics with diminished manual dexterity or the ability to generate force from their fingers. Furthermore, despite patient education in eyedrop instillation not being a common practice, it has been found that adequate patient education can lead to significant improvement in eyedrop instillation technique.
CONCLUSIONS
While many factors are associated with poor eyedrop instillation technique, there are many solutions available including assistive devices and proper instillation education.
PubMed: 38681691
DOI: 10.4103/joco.joco_308_22 -
Tidsskrift For Den Norske Laegeforening... Mar 2024The knowledge base on new psychoactive substances (NPS) is generally limited. This introduces new challenges and increased unpredictability in substance abuse treatment.
BACKGROUND
The knowledge base on new psychoactive substances (NPS) is generally limited. This introduces new challenges and increased unpredictability in substance abuse treatment.
CASE PRESENTATION
A man in his thirties was submitted to detoxification after reportedly using flubromazolam, a high potency designer benzodiazepine, which he had purchased on the dark web. Extensive drug testing of serum, urine and hair, and the remains in a dropper bottle delivered by the patient, did not reveal flubromazolam or possible metabolites, but did reveal several common drugs of abuse, and 8-aminoclonazolam, a metabolite of clonazolam, another designer benzodiazepine sold on the dark web. The detoxification was uncomplicated. An excessive treatment protocol based on the patient's information, involving high preparedness and increased resources, both clinically and analytically, turned out to be unnecessary.
INTERPRETATION
The drug use and clinical course in this case proved to be more common than the unit prepared for. The case history illustrates both the challenges with users of NPS and the general unpredictability in substance abuse treatment.
Topics: Male; Humans; Benzodiazepines; Designer Drugs; Substance-Related Disorders; Substance Abuse Detection; Psychotropic Drugs
PubMed: 38506014
DOI: 10.4045/tidsskr.23.0668 -
Clinical and Experimental Vaccine... Apr 2023Sublingual immunotherapy is currently promoted by various companies, with administration schedules variable in the different products even though almost all are...
PURPOSE
Sublingual immunotherapy is currently promoted by various companies, with administration schedules variable in the different products even though almost all are standardized immunologically. So, this study was planned to examine the efficacy of simple nondaily dosing of sublingual immunotherapy instead of the widely used daily schedule.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Fifty-two patients with allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma were enrolled. Sublingual immunotherapy (manufactured at the allergen immunotherapy preparation unit at Mansoura University) was given in suitable bottles with a dropper mechanism that permits comfortable dosing under the tongue. The physician recommended that the patient put the drops under his/her tongue and leave the drops beneath the tongue for 2 minutes before swallowing. This was repeated every 3 days, with the drop number and concentration gradually rising.
RESULTS
After 2 months of follow-up, 65.8% responded partially to the symptom score and 26.3% responded completely to the medication score. There was a significant decline in the symptom and medication scores from the baseline scores (p<0.0001). After 4 months of follow-up, 95.8% responded partially to symptom scores and no one has not responded; 54.2% responded completely to medication scores; and 81% of studied patients had no side effects. However, the most frequent side effect was a sore throat.
CONCLUSION
Our nondaily schedule of sublingual immunotherapy is tolerable, safe, and effective in patients with allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma.
PubMed: 37214147
DOI: 10.7774/cevr.2023.12.2.121 -
Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) Jan 2023(1) Background: Water is necessary for the preparation of some medicines found in pharmacies where the local water source does not meet the required purity. This study...
(1) Background: Water is necessary for the preparation of some medicines found in pharmacies where the local water source does not meet the required purity. This study aimed to investigate the presence of coliform contamination in water used for drug reconstitution in community pharmacies in Jordan. (2) Methods: Two water samples from 50 randomly selected community pharmacies representing all Jordanian governorates were filtered and then cultured in plate count agars to determine total microbial count, and in m-Endo Agar Les and Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) agar to cultivate (). The presence of was further characterized with gram stains, biochemical tests, and Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Antibiotic susceptibility of isolated was tested against a variety of standard antibiotics. (3) Results: Community pharmacies used droppers filled with water from coolers (62%), bottled water (20%), boiled tap water (16%) and tap water (2%). The majority of the sampled water contained coliform bacteria (88%), and was isolated from 26% of all samples. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference in the percentage of contaminated water samples based on its source location. Nonetheless, the results showed a tendency for higher proportions of contamination in droppers filled from boiled tap water (37.5%; SE: 17.1), followed by water from water coolers (25.8%; SE: 7.9), and then from bottled water (20%; SE: 12.7). All of the isolated were sensitive to gentamycin, ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin. The susceptibility of the isolates to ceftazidime, doxycycline, tetracycline, azithromycin and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid were 92%, 61%, 46%, 23% and 15%, respectively. (4) Conclusions: This study confirms the widespread presence of multidrug-resistant bacteria in water intended for reconstituting drugs in local pharmacies. These findings expose an alarming situation that needs special attention by the acting pharmacists and competent authorities. Higher levels of personal hygiene in the pharmacies coupled with regular inspection of water quality may reduce the risk of microbial contamination in compounded products, especially multidrug-resistant strains of and other index microorganisms.
PubMed: 36766874
DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11030299 -
Hospital Pharmacy Feb 2022Compounded eye drop solutions of vancomycin hydrochloride have important clinical applications, such as postoperative antimicrobial prophylaxis and bacterial keratitis....
PURPOSE
Compounded eye drop solutions of vancomycin hydrochloride have important clinical applications, such as postoperative antimicrobial prophylaxis and bacterial keratitis. There exists a plethora of data to support the use of various liquid vehicles to compound vancomycin hydrochloride eye drops. However, there are a number of limitations for implementation, especially the frequent shortage or discontinuation of the vehicle products. This study was designed to investigate the use of an OTC eye wash product as the evergreen vehicle and to evaluate the physical and chemical stability of the new formulation.
METHODS
The Advance Eye Relief eye wash and vancomycin hydrochloride for injection vials were used to prepare 10 and 50 mg/mL vancomycin eye drop solutions. The solutions were packaged in Steri-Droppers bottles and stored in a freezer for 14 days followed by 28 days in refrigeration. The 14-day period of freezing was included to allow time for sterility testing. At pre-determined stability time points, samples were taken for visual inspection, pH and osmolality measurement, and analysis by a stability-indicating high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method.
RESULTS
Freshly prepared vancomycin eye drops were clear, colorless, and free of particulates. The pH readings were 7.03 and 6.28 for the 10 and 50 mg/mL solutions, respectively. The osmolality of both solutions were within the range of 300-330 mOsmol/kg and considered isotonic. Initial drug concentrations of all samples were confirmed by HPLC to be within 100%-103% of the label claims. Throughout the stability study period, there were no significant changes in the appearance, pH, or osmolality of any samples. The HPLC results also confirmed that the drug concentrations in all stability samples were within 98%-101% of the initial time zero values and no significant degradation product peaks were observed.
CONCLUSION
A new compounded vancomycin eye drop formulation was developed to mitigate vehicle sourcing issues. This eye drop formulation was easy to prepare, exhibited satisfactory properties for ophthalmic applications, and remained stable chemically and physically when stored for 14 days in freezer followed by 28 days in refrigerator.
PubMed: 35521008
DOI: 10.1177/0018578720973885 -
Advances in Ophthalmology Practice and... 2022It is possible that preservative-free eye drops can be contaminated. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of microbial contamination of preservative-free...
BACKGROUND
It is possible that preservative-free eye drops can be contaminated. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of microbial contamination of preservative-free hospital-prepared anti-infective eye drops and investigate factors that contribute to contamination. This finding may help to raise awareness of this problem to medical healthcare staff and patients in order to prevent the transmission of microorganisms from eye drops to the patients through treatment of pre-existing eye diseases.
METHODS
Two hundred and ninety-five eye drop bottles were collected from patients attending Rajavithi Hospital Ophthalmologic outpatient and inpatient department, including both those used by patients at home and those administered in the hospital by medical staff. Samples were taken from the tips of droppers and bottles, and the residual fluid inside the bottles was then cultivated onto different culture plates. The culture results were identified and analyzed according to various factors related to both individual users and the bottles.
RESULTS
Seven different types of eye drops were collected and 71 (24.06%) of the 295 bottles were contaminated. Vancomycin eye drops were the most contaminated. Twenty-six different types of pathogens were identified, most frequently mold (42.98%), and the amount of contamination was higher in tips than in residual fluid inside the bottle. There was no statistically significant difference in contamination between patients used eye drops collected in outpatient units (32.14%) and medical staff used eye drops collected in inpatient settings (23.22%). The only factor that was statistically significant was the number of eye drops used per person. We found that samples from patients who used only up to 2 eye drops suffered contamination (42.8%) more than those from their counterparts who used at least 3 (22.18%), = 0.02.
CONCLUSIONS
Of these preservative-free hospital preparations anti-infective eye drops, 24.06% were contaminated. The number of eye drops used per person was statistically significant in triggering contamination. There is a possibility of number of eyedrops use person may trigger contamination.
PubMed: 37846225
DOI: 10.1016/j.aopr.2022.100046 -
Scientific Reports Oct 2021In this study, we examined the rate of contamination of multi-dose ophthalmic solutions in the operating theatre and the underlying risk for infection by examining the...
In this study, we examined the rate of contamination of multi-dose ophthalmic solutions in the operating theatre and the underlying risk for infection by examining the microbiological load on the tips of the dispenser bottles. A total of 245 samples of eye drop bottles were collected and analysed between June 2018 and January 2019. All were collected in the operating theatre of the University Eye Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf. Contamination of the dropper tip occurred in 2% of the samples. Although the prevalence of contamination was low, the results of this study reveal the possibility of contamination of multi-dose eyedrops even when used by health care professionals in the controlled environment of an operating theatre. Following these results, we recommend the use of single-dose eyedrops in the pre- and intraoperative context.
PubMed: 34645913
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-99892-8 -
Clinical Ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) 2021The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of microbial contamination of multi-user preserved ophthalmic drops (POD) in Ophthalmology Outpatient...
PURPOSE
The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of microbial contamination of multi-user preserved ophthalmic drops (POD) in Ophthalmology Outpatient Clinic (OOC), to compare the rate of contamination between the dropper tip and the residual contents in the bottle, and to identify the contaminating organisms.
METHODS
This was an observational cross-sectional study using a convenience sampling method conducted in the OOC of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center, Malaysia. The samples of POD bottles were divided into groups obtained after 14 days (T14) and after 30 days (T30) of use. The contamination rate at the dropper tip and in the residual contents was determined and the contaminating organisms were identified.
RESULTS
A total of 140 of 149 extended-use POD bottles were included. The prevalence of contamination was 30%. There was a statistically significant difference in the rate of contamination between samples T14 and T30 (19% and 11%, respectively; =0.046). Proparacaine and tropicamide showed higher contamination rates in the T14 samples (=0.027 and =0.497, respectively) than in the T30 samples. The site of contamination was higher at the dropper tip than in the residual contents (>0.05). Coagulase-negative species were the most frequently identified contaminants (89%).
CONCLUSION
The dropper tip was more contaminated than the residual contents, and coagulase-negative species, which are common commensal flora of the ocular conjunctiva and skin, were the most frequently identified organisms.
PubMed: 34326630
DOI: 10.2147/OPTH.S320987 -
Biomedica : Revista Del Instituto... Sep 2020Eye burns due to the accidental application of pharmacological or nonpharmacological substances packaged in plastic dropper bottles have been described for more than...
Eye burns due to the accidental application of pharmacological or nonpharmacological substances packaged in plastic dropper bottles have been described for more than three decades and continue to occur. These burns can cause potentially serious corneal injuries. We report the case of a patient who mistakenly applied salicylic acid to the right eye after confusing it with an eye lubricant, which caused him a severe corneal burn. Fortunately, after aggressive medical and surgical management (including oxygen therapy and amniotic membrane grafting), the visual results were good. We suggest conducting educational campaigns and taking legislative measures in our country to avoid packaging corrosive substances in this type of dropper bottle to reduce the risk of accidental burns.
Topics: Antifungal Agents; Corneal Injuries; Drug Labeling; Drug Packaging; Eye Burns; Humans; Lubricant Eye Drops; Male; Middle Aged; Ophthalmic Solutions; Plastics; Salicylic Acid
PubMed: 33030823
DOI: 10.7705/biomedica.5284 -
Medicine Jul 2020Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a highly potent psychedelic drug derived from ergot alkaloids. The available literature data derived from controlled studies or usage...
RATIONALE
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a highly potent psychedelic drug derived from ergot alkaloids. The available literature data derived from controlled studies or usage in a medical setting seem reassuring; however the literature contains very rare cases of fatal self-inflicted injuries associated with LSD exposure. The behavioral disorder that created the conditions conducive to death is a maladaptive or irrational response to the psychiatric manifestations induced by the substance.
PATIENT CONCERN
Here, we report the case of a 26-year-old man found dead with large neck wounds in a locked house. No medical history other than recreational use of alcohol and narcotics was reported as well as any history of psychotic disease. The entirety of the other investigations carried out did not demonstrate the presence of a third party at the place of death and a dropper bottle containing LSD was found near the body.
DIAGNOSIS
We report the first case of fatal self-inflicted neck wounds with a cutting instrument in the context of acute exposure to LSD in a patient with no psychiatric history and without suicidal symptoms at the time of the self-aggressive act.
INTERVENTION AND OUTCOMES
In the present work, we used a validated method using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry for simultaneous quantification of LSD and its metabolites (O-H-LSD and Nor-LSD) in whole blood and urine samples. LSD and O-H-LSD were respectively found at 1460 and 182 pg/mL in blood. In the urine, the concentrations of LSD, nor-LSD, O-H-LSD were, respectively, 3670, 201, and 4890 ng/L.
LESSONS
This observation is particularly relevant in view of the resurgence of interest in the therapeutic use of LSD, notwithstanding the fact that the literature has not demonstrated a link between suicidal risk and acute or chronic exposure to LSD.
Topics: Adult; Hallucinogens; Humans; Lysergic Acid Diethylamide; Male; Neck Injuries; Wounds, Stab
PubMed: 32629675
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000020868