About Authors: Shouvik Bhattacharya1, Tapas Kumar Pal2
NSHM College Of Pharmaceutical Technology, West Bengal (NCPT)
1 - Student of B.pharm, 4th year,
2 - Assistant Professor of NCPT
Reference ID: PHARMATUTOR-ART-1075
Introduction
Recent trends in Pharmaceutical formulation development technology have presented viable dosage alternatives for patients who may have difficulty swallowing tablets or liquids. Traditional tablets and capsules administered with an 8-oz. (One glass) of water may be inconvenient or impractical for some patients. However, some patients, particularly pediatric and geriatric patients, have difficulty swallowing or chewing solid dosage forms. Many pediatric and geriatric patients are unwilling to take these solid preparations due to fear of choking. For example, a very elderly patient may not be able to swallow a daily dose of antidepressant in the form of a Caplet shaped Tablet. An eight-year-old with allergies could use a more convenient dosage form than antihistamine syrup. A schizophrenic patient in the institutional setting can hide a conventional tablet under his or her tongue to avoid their daily dose of an atypical antipsychotic. A middle-aged woman undergoing radiation therapy for breast cancer may be too nauseous to swallow her H2-blocker. Fast-dissolving tablets (FDTs) / Orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs) are a perfect fit for all of these patients. Fast-dissolving drug delivery systems have rapidly gained acceptance as an important new way of administering drugs. There are multiple fast-dissolving OTC and Rx products on the market worldwide, most of which have been launched in the past 3 to 4 years. There have also been significant increases in the number of new chemical entities under development using a fast-dissolving drug delivery technology.