Investigation of Information Printed on The Blister Pack of Loxoprofen Sodium Tablets

Abstract

Introduction: Loxoprofen sodium was selected as a commonly used medicine. The loxoprofen sodium tablets are marketed by 22 companies in Japan. The 22 different packaging types for this single active ingredient are served. We investigated the specifications printed on the 10-tablet blister pack. Methods: Regarding specifications printing, using the 22 loxoprofen sodium products, the survey items included how many times each of the specific printing was printed on the 10-tablet blister pack. About the questionnaire survey, a question I assessed the desired number of specifications. Question II assessed the direct printing of the drug name on each of the tablets and the size of tablet. The target population of the survey consisted of prescribing doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and non-healthcare workers. Result: The number of instances in which the drug name was listed ranged from 3 to 22 on the 10-tablet blister pack. The tablet identification code was printed ranged 0 - 10. Eleven products had no medical effect information on the pack. The expiration date was printed on two products. The serial number was not printed on one product. On the questionnaire survey, the desired number of instances that the standard dose was printed was significantly higher for nurses and pharmacists than for prescribing doctors and non-healthcare workers. Nurses considered information about medical effects to be important. Pharmacists demanded more barcodes. Several identification codes were requested by health care professionals. Although many of the tablets were 9 mm in size, the respondents desired smaller tablets. Conclusion: There were gaps between the amount of information printed on the pack and that was considered desirable by healthcare professionals and non-healthcare workers. Our findings indicate that multiple items are considered useful for developing packages for oral drugs marketed in the future as well as in ensuring safe and secure pharmacological therapy