Analysis of clinical outcomes in elderly patients with impaired swallowing function

Oral bioavailability of microdoses and therapeutic doses of midazolam as a 2-dimensionally printed orodispersible film in healthy volunteers

PURPOSE

The use of two-dimensional (2D) printing technologies of drugs on orodispersible films (ODF) can promote dose individualization and facilitate drug delivery in vulnerable patients, including children. We investigated midazolam pharmacokinetics after the administration of 2D-printed ODF.

METHODS

Midazolam doses of 0.03 and 3 mg were printed on an ODF using a 2D drug printer. We investigated the bioavailability of the two midazolam doses with ODF swallowed immediately (ODF-IS) or delayed after 2 min (ODF-DS) by comparing their pharmacokinetics with intravenous and oral midazolam solution in 12 healthy volunteers.

RESULTS

The relative bioavailability of ODF-IS 0.03 mg was 102% (90% confidence interval: 89.4-116) compared to oral solution and for 3 mg 101% (86.8-116). C_max of ODF-IS 0.03 mg was 95.5% (83.2-110) compared to oral solution and 94.3% (78.2-114) after 3 mg. Absolute bioavailability of ODF-IS 0.03 mg was 24.9% (21.2-29.2) and for 3 mg 28.1% (23.4-33.8) (oral solution: 0.03 mg: 24.4% (22.0-27.1); 3 mg: 28.0% (25.0-31.2)). Absolute bioavailability of ODF-DS was significantly larger than for ODF-IS (0.03 mg: 61.4%; 3 mg: 44.1%; both p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

This trial demonstrates the tolerability and unchanged bioavailability of midazolam printed on ODF over a 100-fold dose range, proving the suitability of ODF for dose individualization. Midazolam ODF-IS AUC_0-∞ in both doses was bioequivalent to the administration of an oral solution. However, C_max of the therapeutic dose of ODF-IS missed bioequivalence by a clinically not relevant extent. Prolonged mucosal exposure increased bioavailability. (Trial Registration EudraCT: 2020-003984-24, August 10, 2020).

Brazilian manuscripts published in the Dysphagia journal

ABSTRACT Objective: to survey the Brazilian participation in original and review articles published in the Dysphagia journal. Methods: original and review articles in volumes 1 to 35, quantifying all those developed in Brazil, the diseases researched, the places where the investigations were conducted, and the number of citations they received, were analyzed. The categorical variables are presented in relative and absolute frequencies. Literature Review: a total of 35 Brazilian manuscripts were published. The most researched disease was Parkinson’s, followed by Chagas disease, stroke, and the physiology of swallowing. The highest number of publications was carried out at the Universidade de São Paulo, campus at Ribeirão Preto, SP, and the Universidade Federal de São Paulo, capital city. Between 2001 and 2010, 14 manuscripts were published (3.7% of the journal), and between 2011 and 2020, 20 were published (2.9% of the journal). By 2019, the manuscripts had received 481 citations - 17 citations per article between 1998 and 2009, and 14, between 2010 and 2019. Conclusion: Brazilian manuscripts are regularly published in the Dysphagia journal and have a scientific impact. However, there has not been a progressive increase in the number of published articles.