It is common practice to divide rectal suppositories to obtain appropriate doses for children. However, information on how to divide suppositories and achieving accurate doses is limited. The purpose of this study was to determine optimal directions for dividing acetaminophen suppositories based on the active ingredient content of the divided portions. We also conducted a questionnaire survey of parents regarding their children's use of suppositories.
There was no significant difference in the acetaminophen content of each portion when Anhiba 200^® was divided horizontally, longitudinally, and diagonally to obtain acetaminophen half dosages. Uniformity of acetaminophen content was also obtained when three other suppositories available in Japan were divided in the same manner. However, when Fever A II^®, a suppository sold in the US, was divided, the content of the two halves was not uniform.
Twenty-eight of the 43 parents surveyed had previously divided suppositories. More than half of them (57.1%) said that they divided suppositories by cutting them horizontally, followed by 35.8% who cut them diagonally and 7.1% who cut them longitudinally. Parents who had received instruction from medical staff cut suppositories either horizontally or diagonally.
In view of our findings, we propose that pharmaceutical companies provide information on the content uniformity of suppositories when divided and pharmacists advise that suppositories are divided in a particular direction based on such information.