Publications by authors named "Ravi Varanasi"

Background: Patients with chronic pain may experience difficulty swallowing, in part due to worsening disease, comorbid conditions, iatrogenic etiology, or age. Patients or caregivers may manipulate extended-release (ER) opioid formulations to facilitate oral dosing due to a lack of therapeutic options that allow for sprinkle or enteral feeding tube administration. If crushed or broken, current oral ER opioids can be associated with adverse sequelae, including risk of potentially fatal overdose.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Patients who have chronic pain with dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) (CPD) often have difficulty taking oral medication and, as such, alter their medications by crushing or chewing in an attempt to make it easier to swallow. Such manipulation of currently marketed, extended-release (ER) opioid analgesics can significantly alter the pharmacokinetic (PK) properties of the formulations, resulting in poor treatment outcome or serious adverse events. There is an unmet medical need for oral ER opioid formulations suitable for patients with CPD.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Eutectic mixtures formed between active pharmaceutical ingredients and/or excipients provide vast scope for pharmaceutical applications. This study aimed at the exploration of the crystallization abilities of two eutectic mixtures (EM) i.e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: In vitro: To assess the effect of common crushing techniques on particle size reduction (PSR) and in vitro drug-release kinetics of oxycodone DETERx® (herein DETERx) and of a commercially available oxycodone extended-release (ER) tablet. In vivo: To evaluate the impact of the most effective manipulation method identified in the in vitro study and the effect of chewing on the pharmacokinetics (PK) of DETERx relative to oxycodone solution.

Design: In vitro: Mechanical manipulation of dosage forms using common household utensils.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Dysphagia--difficulty eating and swallowing--can significantly impair a patient's ability to maintain adequate nutritional and medication intake. There are a large number of patients with chronic pain, including pediatric, geriatric, and palliative care patients, who suffer from dysphagia and, therefore, have difficulty achieving optimal pain management with solid, oral formulations. The objective of this study was to survey physicians and patients in the US to understand their knowledge, attitudes, and clinical management/analgesic usage patterns in the treatment of patients with chronic pain with dysphagia (CPD).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF