Drug Forms

Peter Johnson

SCHIN, Newcastle, UK

Work done in Prodigy 3 project

By Chris Wroe,

Medical Informatics Group, Manchester University, UK

Motivation

• Decision support• Chronic disease management guidelines• Computer needs to be able to answer questions

such as :-• “Is this patient on an inhaled steroid for asthma?”• “on a sustained release tablet for angina?”• Implies machine has explicit categorisation of

drugs by Indication, Chemical structure, Route of admin, Form, etc.

Patient on

•Becodisks• Dry powder for inhalation, disks containing 8 blisters of beclometasone dipropionate

• 100 micrograms/blister

Forms proposed

Spray.  Dermal Spray.  Inhalant.  .  Inhalant Powder.  .  .  Inhalant Powder Capsule.  .  Nasal Inhalant.  .  Oral Inhalant.  Nasal Spray.  Spray with Adaptor.  Powder Spray.  .  Inhalant Powder.  .  .  Inhalant Powder Capsule

Inhaled steroid for asthma

Route – implies some formsAerosol, Dry powder Drug class

Indication

‘Form’ in reality

Route of administration

Physical Form

+ Administration Action

+ Administration Device

Inhaled Powder Form for chewing Delivered by applicator

Route taxonomy. topical to conjunctiva. topical to ear. topical to nose. topical to skin. topical to scalp. topical to oral mucosa. . buccal. sublingual. topical to teeth. oral (passing through oral cavity). rectal. vaginal. intravenous. intrathecal. intraperitoneal. inhaled to lung. . inhaled to lung via nose. . inhaled to lung via mouth

Drug form taxonomy . aerosol . bar . cake . disk . foam . gel . . jelly . gum . liniment . liquidEmulsion . lotion . ointment . particulate . . bead . . crystal . . flake . . granule . . pellet . . powder . . suppository

. paste . patch . pillShaped . . caplet . . capsule . . tablet . . . lozenge . . . pastille . . troche . semiSolidEmulsion . . cream . solution . . aqueous . . . elixir . . . syrup . . oil . stick . suspension . wafer

Device taxonomy. spray device

. drug applicator

. drug dropper device

Process/Action taxonomy. Douching. Rinsing

. Irrigating

. Spraying

. Liquid installing

. . Infusing

. . Irrigating

. Chewing

. Inhaling

. Ingesting

4 hierarchies of ‘form’

By Route. 'inhaled to lung form'

. . 'Inhalation Solution'

. . 'Nasal Inhalant'

. . 'Oral Inhalant'

. . 'Inhalant Powder'

. . . 'Inhalant Powder Capsule‘

By Action

By Physical Form. 'Solid'

. . 'Powder'

. . . 'Powder Spray'

. . . . 'Inhalant Powder'

. . . . . 'Inhalant Powder Capsule'

. . . 'Powder for Reconstitution‘

By Device

'Sustained Release Buccal Tablet' 

Intermediate Representation :

MAIN tabletHAS_PHARMACOKINETICS sustained releaseHAS_ROUTE buccal 

'Sustained Release Buccal Tablet' First parent : Form classification

Form classification:

'Solid‘

. 'Pill‘

. . 'Tablet‘

. . . 'Sustained Release Buccal Tablet' 

From form taxonomy:

pillShaped  .  . caplet  .  . capsule  .  . tablet  .  .  . lozenge  .  .  . pastille  .  . troche  

'Sustained Release Buccal Tablet’ second parent : Route classification

Route classification

. 'oral mucosa form'. . 'buccal form'

. . .'Sustained Release Buccal Tablet' 

From route taxonomy

Route. topical to conjunctiva. topical to ear. topical to nose. topical to skin. topical to scalp. topical to oral mucosa

. . buccal 

n.b. Pharmacokinetics – sustained release is another classification concept

Where now?

• Preliminary work• Quick classification of the leaf terms supplied• Intermediate nodes from Prodigy work

Chris Wroe [wroec@cs.man.ac.uk]http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/mig/people/wroec/index.html