title: Tablet splitting and weight uniformity of half-tablets of 4 medications in pharmacy practice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tablet splitting is a common practice for multiple reasons including cost savings; however, it does not necessarily result in weight-uniform half-tablets.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine weight uniformity of half-tablets resulting from splitting 4 products available in the Jordanian market and investigate the effect of tablet characteristics on weight uniformity of half-tablets.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten random tablets each of warfarin 5 mg, digoxin 0.25 mg, phenobarbital 30 mg, and prednisolone 5 mg were weighed and split by 6 PharmD students using a knife. The resulting half-tablets were weighed and evaluated for weight uniformity. Other relevant physical characteristics of the 4 products were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average tablet hardness of the sampled tablets ranged from 40.3 N to 68.9 N. Digoxin, phenobarbital, and prednisolone half-tablets failed the weight uniformity test; however, warfarin half-tablets passed. Digoxin, warfarin, and phenobarbital tablets had a score line and warfarin tablets had the deepest score line of 0.81 mm.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Splitting warfarin tablets produces weight-uniform half-tablets that may possibly be attributed to the hardness and the presence of a deep score line. Digoxin, phenobarbital, and prednisolone tablet splitting produces highly weight variable half-tablets. This can be of clinical significance in the case of the narrow therapeutic index medication digoxin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science & Technology (JUST), Irbid, Jordan. linda_tahaineh@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Linda M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Tahaineh
authors.forename: Shadi F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Gharaibeh
mesh_terms: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000592:standards; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000592:standards; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000592:standards; D017046:Cost Savings; D004077:Digoxin / Q000737:chemistry; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004339:Drug Compounding; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000737:chemistry / Q000592:standards; D007597:Jordan; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000737:chemistry / Q000592:standards*; D010634:Phenobarbital / Q000737:chemistry / Q000592:standards; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000737:chemistry / Q000592:standards; D011786:Quality Control; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013607:Tablets / Q000737:chemistry / Q000592:standards*; D014859:Warfarin / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000925:Anticoagulants; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D013607:Tablets; D014859:Warfarin; D004077:Digoxin; D011239:Prednisolone; D010634:Phenobarbital