Stability of fluorouracil, cytarabine, or doxorubicin hydrochloride in ethylene vinylacetate portable infusion-pump reservoirs

A literature review of reports of the stability and storage of common injectable chemotherapy agents used in veterinary patients

“…Similarly, HPLC determined that cytarabine diluted in D5W or D5W in 0.2% NaCl to concentrations as low as 0.08 mg/mL was stable (no drug loss) in plastic syringes for 7 days at RT or refrigerated . SIHPLC concluded that cytarabine (25 or 1.25 mg/mL in 0.9% NaCl or D5W) in plastic syringes was stable (no drug loss) for 28 days at 4 and 22 °C, and for 7 days at 35 °C . This study supports refrigerated cytarabine storage for up to 28 days after puncture using aseptic technique and a CSDTD.…”

“…SIHPLC concluded that cytarabine (25 or 1.25 mg/mL in 0.9% NaCl or D5W) in plastic syringes was stable (no drug loss) for 28 days at 4 and 22 °C, and for 7 days at 35 °C . This study supports refrigerated cytarabine storage for up to 28 days after puncture using aseptic technique and a CSDTD. Furthermore, diluted cytarabine (>0.08 mg/mL) did not show significant degradation in plastic syringes for up to 7 days .…”

“…A stability cut‐off value of >95% of the initial drug concentration remaining in solution was predominantly used in this review. When this information was lacking and publications simply stated the drug was stable, the statement was accepted at face value if the report was otherwise robust such as including the use of validated SIHPLC with adequate controls and repeatable data . In addition, many studies reviewed had an arbitrary study endpoint, rather than monitoring the drug stability until a certain percentage of degradation was seen.…”

“…When these types of studies were not available for this review, studies with adequate controls and/or repeatability stability data were selected. Despite these efforts, it was still difficult to directly compare each of the reports with one another, because of the diversity in reported stability data presented and absence of comprehensive information in the literature, such as: inconsistency or lack of reporting of controls, repeatable data, and/or validation methods; missing information; different assay techniques; lack of reporting of assay techniques; various times for study endpoint; diverse definition of stability; variation in storage times for the same drug; etc. Future studies that address these inconsistencies would be helpful.…”

“…SIHPLC showed 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) (10 or 50 mg/mL) was stable for up to 28 days at all temperatures tested (4, 22 and 35 °C) when stored in 0.9% NaCl or D5W solution . SIHPLC also measured 5‐FU under mimicked multiple in‐hospital usage, and concluded that 5‐FU (8 mg/mL in 0.9% NaCl) in PVC infusion bags was stable (<6% degradation) after freezing and storage for 79 days at −20 °C, followed by thawing in a microwave oven to store in refrigerated storage (5 °C) for a further 28 days .…”