Cleaning validation for blister packaging machines in hospital-supplying pharmacies

OBJECTIVE

To ensure quality-assured care for patients, validation of a cleaning process for blister machines is essential. Due to the high operating costs of maintaining high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) which is mainly used for this type of analysis, a new, quick and cost-effective analysis method using UV-Vis spectroscopy has been developed.

METHOD

Marker substances (metamizole (dipyrone) and paracetamol tablets) were packed in blisters. Afterwards test tablets were packaged before and after cleaning the blister machine and examined for contamination using UV-Vis spectroscopy.

RESULTS

UV-Vis spectroscopy has been shown to be superior to HPLC analysis for cleaning validation of blister machines, as it is much faster and cheaper, requires less equipment and personnel effort, while maintaining the same reliability and sensitivity.

CONCLUSION

Unit-dose blistering is becoming increasingly popular in the daily routine of hospital pharmacies worldwide due to a variety of advantages. Therefore, cleaning validation of blistering machines has become a mandatory duty of care. The UV-Vis spectroscopic method presented here is the first innovative method suitable for the cleaning validation of blister machines to date.

Determination of the cross-contamination and validation of the cleaning process for an automated personalised dosing system

OBJECTIVE

To determine the degree of cross-contamination and to validate a cleaning process for an Automated Personalised Dosing System (APDS), respecting the permitted residue transfer limits.

METHOD

An analytical determination by high pressure liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry was performed for 11 drugs considered critical for their potential for contamination, toxicity (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) List 2016) and/or narrow therapeutic index. The test was carried out for three consecutive weeks, seven repetitions per week, in a state of maximum contamination and maximum cleanliness. The main validation criterion of the cleaning protocol was to quantify that the active ingredients measured were below the Permitted Daily Exposure index or fraction 1/1000 of the minimum daily dose, both in a state of maximum contamination and when the APDS is in a clean condition, for an average number of tablets consumed per person per day.

RESULTS

In all the samples analysed, some compound could always be quantified below 2% of the permitted transfer limits, highlighting the presence of paracetamol and carbamazepine. In the state of maximum contamination, the mean±SD values of paracetamol and carbamazepine were 5.83±1.56 µg and 0.22±0.07 µg, respectively, without significant differences in mean values over the 3 weeks of the study. After the cleaning protocol was executed, only paracetamol and carbamazepine were detected, with the average values being 4.67 µg (95% CI 3.92 to 5.43, p<0.05) and 0.07 µg (95% CI 0.03 to 0.10, p<0.05) lower than the state of maximum contamination, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

In all cases the level of cross-contamination for an APDS was below the pre-established limits. The cleaning protocol has been validated, confirming APDS decontamination of the most critical medicines.

Cleaning validation for blister packaging machines in an Austrian pharmacy

Objectives

Our pharmacy works in accordance with the Good Manufacturing Practice in the area of multidose individual blister repackaging. This required validating the cleaning procedure of the blister machines accounting for the characteristics of our setting and investigating worst possible production scenarios.

Methods

Visual clean: After machine cleaning we inspected surfaces for visible residues. Cross-contamination: A tablet vulnerable to contamination was analysed after blister packaging for residues of a medication with high contamination risk using. Critical medications in the machine were identified by their dust formation potential. Placebo tablets were blister-packaged and analysed for residues of these critical medications using mass spectrometry. We assessed pharmacological relevance of contamination from these two analyses by the dose criterion. Validity of results: Comparing production conditions and technical construction of the blister machines, validity of the validation results for the whole setting was investigated.

Results

After cleaning no residues were visible on the machine. No contamination was detected on the vulnerable tablet. In 80% of 280 analysed placebo tablets contamination was not measurable or below 1% of the cut-off limits according to the dose criterion, the highest value being 8.5%. Production volume and cleanability were comparable in the other machines.

Conclusions

Blister machine cleaning was successfully validated: visual cleanliness was achieved; contamination values were clearly below the cut-off limits, ruling out relevant cross-contamination of copackaged drugs. The results proved valid for the whole site. The study contributes evidence to safety and quality of blister repackaging and may serve as reference for similar settings.