Abstract

Suppositories have not gained the level of acceptability, respect, and usage as most other dosage forms. Rectal administration is not often the first route of choice, but it becomes a good alternative when the oral route is inadvisable. Much work has been conducted in recent years on suppositories as a dosage form, as evidenced by the literature citations on suppository or suppositories. Although suppositories are not very popular as a mode of administering drugs, this dosage form will probably always have a place in medicine. Newer specialty suppository dosage forms have been developed to introduce drugs into the body, including the hollow-type suppository. Hollow-type suppositories have been investigated as a new dosage form that can be used for various purposes including but not limited to 1) enhancing the bioavailability of a drug, 2) slowing down or speeding up its onset of action, and 3) increasing or decreasing its duration of action. The flexibility of hollow-type suppositories may provide compounding pharmacists additional options for patients in the future. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of the characteristics and applications of hollow-type suppositories in both research and clinical situations.

Related Keywords

• hollow-type suppository
• suppositories
• suppository bases
• rectal administration
• bioavailability
• drug release rate
• duration of drug action
• transrectal administration
• gentamicin
• absorption
• human chorionic gonadotropin
• insulin
• metoclopramide
• morphine
• cyclodextrins
• propranolol
• nifedipine
• valproic acid

Related Categories

• HOSPICE/PALLIATIVE CARE
• DOSAGE FORMS/DRUG CARRIERS
• LITERATURE REVIEW