Effect of Thickened Beverage and Swallowing Aid Jelly Used for Dysphagic Patients on the Disintegration of Orally Administered Tablets

Abstract

Thickened beverages or swallowing aid jelly (SAJ), commonly used as tablet-swallowing aids for dysphagic patients, may influence the disintegration of orally administered tablets. With this in mind, we evaluated the disintegration times of therapeutic tablets immersed in thickened beverages or SAJ compared to immersion in ones without them. Thickened beverages and SAJs were prepared with various beverages (water, orange juice, and milk) using food thickeners and SAJ powders marketed in Korea. The tablet disintegration times were the same in thickened beverages and SAJs, and there was no statistically significant difference associated with the thickness levels of the thickened beverages. The disintegration times of Tylenol immersed in orange juice or milk were slightly higher compared to those immersed in water. Moreover, there was no difference in disintegration time when using the thickened beverages and SAJs. The disintegration times of Aspirin were similar in all of the thickened beverages or SAJs, and there were no differences between non-immersed and immersed tablets. These results demonstrate that the disintegration of Tylenol and Aspirin is not greatly affected by immersion in any of the thickened beverages and SAJs.

Keywords: Deglutition; Dysphagia; Tablets.

Figure 1. Appearances of thickened water samples with different thickness levels. (A) Level 1, (B) level 2, (C) level 3, and (D) swallowing aid jelly.

Figure 2. Tablet disintegration times of Tylenol (A) and Aspirin (B and C) immersed in different thickened beverages with different thickness levels (non-immersion, 1, 2, and 3) or swallowing aid jelly. Aspirin disintegration test was performed in (B) the first (pH 1.2) and (C) second fluids (pH 6.8). Error bars indicate standard deviation.