The Necessity of Using Heparin in the UltraTag RBC Kit When Tagging Blood for a Nuclear Medicine Study.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this research was to evaluate the need to use heparin when preparing an UltraTag red blood cell (RBC) kit for a nuclear medicine study.

Methods: Nonheparinized blood samples (n = 15) and heparinized blood samples (n = 15) were added to UltraTag RBC kits. The samples were examined for macroscopic blood clotting and microscopic platelet clumping.

Assessing the stability of common radiopharmaceuticals compounded and utilized outside package insert guidelines.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the stability of radiopharmaceuticals compounded using activities and expiration times in excess of manufacturers' recommendations. Proof of the compounded sterile preparation quality when compounding outside of manufacturers' recommendations has become a key component of maintaining compliance with the guidelines set forth in United States Pharmacopeia General Chapter <797> Pharmaceutical Compounding-Sterile Preparations, originally released in 2008. Seven commercial nuclear pharmacies compounded various radiopharmaceuticals for patient use as part of daily pharmacy protocol.

Establishing benchmark rates of microbial and bacterial endotoxin contamination for radiopharmaceuticals compounded in commercial nuclear pharmacy settings.

The objective of this study was to establish benchmark rates for microbial and bacterial endotoxin contamination rates for radiopharmaceutical preparations compounded in commercial nuclear pharmacies. Radiopharmaceutical samples were obtained between November 2006 and June 2010 from seven commercial nuclear pharmacies. Preparations were compounded per the compounding protocols of each radiopharmacy, and each kit was used for unit-dose dispensing of patient-specific doses.