To administer oral anticancer drugs safely, the simple suspension method has been introduced in many hospitals. Therefore, concerning drugs for which it is unclear whether or not this method is applicable, testing must be able to be conducted at any time. In this study, we investigated 20 oral anticancer drugs to expand information on the application of the simple suspension method. Disintegration/suspension and permeability tests were conducted, as described in the 3rd version of the Tube Administration Handbook for Oral Drugs. All products were disintegrated/suspended after 10 minutes. On permeability tests, there was no residue in any tube for tubal feeding. On the final evaluation, the products were regarded as suitable (grade 1). Bicalutamide tablets (80 mg, TCK and KN), which were analyzed in this study, were regarded as suitable (grade 1) on the final evaluation. On the other hand, the simple suspension method is not applicable for a brand-name drug, Casodex^® tablets (80 mg). This may be related to the different additives. Furthermore, the results suggest that, even when the simple suspension method is not applicable for a brand-name drug, it may become applicable for generic drugs. This may provide a new merit for promoting the use of generic drugs.

Since attention is sometimes required with regard to the use and handling of external medications or injection drugs in drug therapy, patients may have a feeling of “inconvenience”. We, therefore, focused on a feeling of “inconvenience when using” external medications and injection drugs, and conducted a questionnaire survey to investigate the level of awareness and current status of using assist devices that can effectively reduce such inconvenience. The survey took place at a pharmacy, and involved interviews using a questionnaire. Of the 197 respondents, valid responses were obtained from 147 individuals (74.6%). As the results, 25.9% of individuals using external medications or injection drugs responded ‘yes’ concerning the feeling of “inconvenience when using” them. In addition, 39.4% of individuals using eye drops and 10.5% of those using insulin similarly responded. However, only 10.9% knew of the availability of assist devices that are expected to reduce the inconvenience. The results revealed that a certain number of people feel the “inconvenience” of external dosage forms investigated in this study, suggesting the need for pharmacists to consider that patients may have problems using their medications, and to recommend and support the use of assist devices that can be operated by patients.

Since attention is sometimes required with regard to the use and handling of external medications or injection drugs in drug therapy, patients may have a feeling of “inconvenience”. We, therefore, focused on a feeling of “inconvenience when using” external medications and injection drugs, and conducted a questionnaire survey to investigate the level of awareness and current status of using assist devices that can effectively reduce such inconvenience. The survey took place at a pharmacy, and involved interviews using a questionnaire. Of the 197 respondents, valid responses were obtained from 147 individuals (74.6%). As the results, 25.9% of individuals using external medications or injection drugs responded ‘yes’ concerning the feeling of “inconvenience when using” them. In addition, 39.4% of individuals using eye drops and 10.5% of those using insulin similarly responded. However, only 10.9% knew of the availability of assist devices that are expected to reduce the inconvenience. The results revealed that a certain number of people feel the “inconvenience” of external dosage forms investigated in this study, suggesting the need for pharmacists to consider that patients may have problems using their medications, and to recommend and support the use of assist devices that can be operated by patients.