Stability of Drugs Stored in Helicopters for Use by Emergency Medical Services: A Prospective Observational Study.
Ann Emerg Med
; 80(4): 364-370, 2022 10.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35927113
ABSTRACT
STUDY OBJECTIVE:
Drugs stored in rescue helicopters may be subject to extreme environmental conditions. The aim of this study was to measure whether drugs stored under the real-life conditions of a Swiss helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) would retain their potency over the course of 1 year.METHODS:
A prospective, longitudinal study measuring the temperature exposure and concentration of drugs stored on 2 rescue helicopters in Switzerland over 1 year. The study drugs included epinephrine, norepinephrine, amiodarone, midazolam, fentanyl, naloxone, rocuronium, etomidate, and ketamine. Temperatures were measured inside the medication storage bags and the crew cabins at 10-minute intervals. Drug stability was measured on a monthly basis over the course of 12 months using high-performance liquid chromatography. The medications were considered stable at a minimum remaining drug concentration of 90% of the label claim.RESULTS:
Temperatures ranged from -1.2 °C to 38.1 °C (29.84 °F to 100.58 °F) inside the drug storage bags. Of all the temperature measurements inside the drug storage bags, 37% lay outside the recommended storage conditions. All drugs maintained a concentration above 90% of the label claim. The observation periods for rocuronium and etomidate were shortened to 7 months because of a supply shortage of reference samples.CONCLUSION:
Drugs stored under the real-life conditions of Swiss HEMS are subjected to temperatures outside the manufacturer's approved storage requirements. Despite this, all drugs stored under these conditions remained stable throughout our study. Real-life stability testing could be a way to extend drug exchange intervals.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Emergency Medical Services
/
Etomidate
/
Amiodarone
/
Ketamine
Type of study:
Observational_studies
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Ann Emerg Med
Year:
2022
Document type:
Article