Ll. Hoey et al., LORAZEPAM STABILITY IN PARENTERAL SOLUTIONS FOR CONTINUOUS INTRAVENOUS ADMINISTRATION, The Annals of pharmacotherapy, 30(4), 1996, pp. 343-346
OBJECTIVE: To determine the stability of lorazepam over a 24-hour peri
od when prepared in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) bags at initial concentra
tions of 0.08 and 0.5 mg/mL. DESIGN: Each concentration was studied at
room (21 degrees C) and refrigerator (4 degrees C) temperatures in de
xtrose 5% (D5W) and NaCl 0.9% solutions. Duplicate test solution admix
tures were prepared for each lorazepam concentration, diluent, and tem
perature. At 0, 1, 4, 8, and 24 hours, duplicate samples were obtained
for visual inspection, pH determination, and concentration determinat
ion by stability-indicating, reverse-phase HPLC analysis. Compared wit
h baseline, peaks for lorazepam degradation products were not found on
any of the study chromatograms. RESULTS: In D5W and NaCl 0.9% solutio
ns, lorazepam loss in excess of 10% by HPLC analysis occurred for conc
entrations of 0.08 and 0.5 mg/mL at 1 and 4 hours, respectively. CONCL
USIONS: These data suggest that significant loss of lorazepam occurs a
s the probable result of sorption to PVC bags when admired in both D5W
and NaCl 0.9% solutions at 21 and 4 degrees C.