The Packaging Awards focus on the packaging quality of drugs evaluated during the previous year in the New Products section of Prescrire's French edition (issues 291 to 302 for 2008).
| PACKAGING AWARDS |
| Méthadone AP-HP° Bouchara-Recordati (methadone) |
For the precut blister packs, with full labelling of each unit dose, protected with a tamper-proof film to minimise the risk of accidental ingestion, this morphine derivative being fatal at low doses in children. For the labelling that gives due emphasis to the international nonproprietary name (INN) and distinguishes clearly between the strengths, minimising the risk of error when preparing the doses (la revue Prescrire 295 and coming in Prescrire International). |
| Miltex° cutaneous solution Baxter (miltefosine) |
For the measures taken to guarantee safety at each step of dose preparation and when disposing of the packaging after administration of treatment: presence of a child-proof bottle, latex gloves and two waste disposal bags, drawing attention to the cytotoxic nature of the waste (la revue Prescrire 300). |
YELLOW CARDS
|
| Actifed allergie cétirizine° tablets McNeil Santé Grand Public (cetirizine) |
For the ambiguous labelling of this over-the-counter drug (belonging to an umbrella brand): the international nonproprietary name (INN) on the blister packs is particularly difficult to read and could lead to confusion with other drugs from the same umbrella brand (la revue Prescrire 296). |
| Cymbalta° capsules Lilly (duloxetine) |
|
| Januvia° tablets MSD-Chibret (sitagliptin) |
|
Xelevia° tablets
Pierre Fabre Médicament (sitagliptin) |
For the rather incomprehensible labelling (under the pretext of multilingualism): the unit doses are not fully and individually labelled, making it difficult to read the INN, especially if blisters are separated (la revue Prescrire 292, 295, 299). |
| Maxalt° tablets MSD-Chibret (rizatriptan) |
For the poorly legible labelling of the blister packs: unit doses are not fully and individually labelled, the INN is only marked once and in small characters (la revue Prescrire 300). |
|
Niquitin° transdermal patches
GlaxoSmithKline Santé Grand Public (nicotine)
Testopatch° transdermal patches Pierre Fabre Médicament (testosterone)
|
For not featuring the name of the drug on the external surface of the patch, making it difficult to identify them once applied to the skin: this could cause confusion in the event of concomitant application of a similar patch (la revue Prescrire 293, 301). |
| Vicks adultes toux sèche miel° syrup Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals (dextromethorphan) |
For not supplying a dosing device with the syrup, which is available over the counter. Patients will therefore use a teaspoon, which can lead to dosing errors (la revue Prescrire 299). |
| RED CARDS |
Advilcaps° soft capsules 200 mg
and
Adviltab° tablets
400 mg
Wyeth Santé Familiale (ibuprofen) |
For insufficient information in the package leaflet on data suggesting an increased risk of miscarriage when NSAIDs are taken during the first trimester of pregnancy. This exposes pregnant women to an unjustified risk given how common its indications are (fever and pain) and the fact that these products are available over the counter (la revue Prescrire 301). |
| Durogesic° transdermal patches Janssen-Cilag (fentanyl) |
For the package leaflet which shows an illustration of a patch being applied to a child’s chest. This site is too easily accessible to children. A child could remove and swallow the patch, and would be exposed to a potentially fatal overdose of fentanyl (Prescrire International 95, 96,98). |
Okimus° tablets Biocodex (quinine
+ hawthorn solid extract) |
For the lack of a child-proof cap on the bottle; it is easy to open and contains tablets resembling chocolate sweets, creating a risk of massive ingestion which would be potentially fatal for young child (la revue Prescrire 297). |
Valda rhume° tablets (paracetamol
+ pseudoephedrine
+ vitamin C)
and
Valda toux sèche sans sucre° oral solution (pholcodine)
GlaxoSmithKline Santé Grand Public |
For the labelling of these two drugs from an umbrella brand illustrated with a plant, whereas they contain none: this trivialises the serious cardiovascular adverse effects of pseudoephedrine and the neurological adverse effects of pholcodine (especially as this oral solution is available over the counter) (la revue Prescrire 302). |
©Prescrire April 2009
Source: Prescrire Int 2009; 18 (100): 82. |
