Quality Assessment of Functional Claims of Salacia-Derived Salacinol-Containing Foods.

Background Functional claim-associated foods contain raw materials that contribute to enhancing health in Japan. However, certain foods with functional claims fail to meet the disintegration test (DT) criteria of the Japanese Pharmacopoeia (JP). Objective This study assessed the quality of tablet-type, functional claim-associated foods containing Salacia-derived salacinol, using DT and weight variation (WV) tests.

Quantitative comparison of anticancer drug dispersal before and after introducing appropriate preparation procedures during anticancer drug preparation.

Background: In Japan, engineering controls for preparing injectable anticancer drugs are inadequate and compliance with appropriate preparation procedures is vital. In this study, we evaluated the effects of adherence to appropriate anticancer drug formulation and packaging procedures on reducing anticancer drug dispersal in clinical practice, especially in Japan.

Methods: We quantitatively evaluated the effectiveness of implementing procedures that were experimentally verified to help reduce the amount of anticancer drug dispersed during preparation based on procedures described in the "Anticancer Drug Preparation Manual.

[Investigation and Improvement of Techniques That Affect the Amount of Dispersal during Preparation of Anticancer Drugs].

Many healthcare workers who handle anticancer drugs are at risk for occupational exposure. However, there are no established permissible limits for occupational exposure to anticancer drugs; thus, in this study, we aimed to search for and improve procedures that have a greater impact on the amount of spatter for handling anticancer drugs in vials, which are frequently used, based on the quantitative evaluation of the amount of exposure. We used sodium riboflavin phosphate (FMN) as a simulated anticancer drug and measured the amount of FMN dispersed to the handling area by the wiping method and the amount of FMN dispersed in both gloves using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FL).

[The construction and evaluation of the preventing method for the input mischoice in a prescription order entry system--usefulness of a three-character input and a warning screen display system].

In the computerized prescription order entry system, it has been pointed out that a physician's input mischoice for medicine is one of the causes of medication errors. We therefore investigated the input mischoices by physicians at the time of writing prescriptions. Subsequently, the number of input characters in a prescription order was changed to three characters from two characters.