Abstract
BackgroundThe transport of veterinary drugs must comply with the general standards for drug storage. Although many vehicles are equipped with active heating and/or cooling devices assuring recommended storage conditions, simple insulated transport boxes are also often used. In this study, measurements for typical transport boxes were performed under laboratory conditions by the use of a climate chamber for a temperature of −20 °C and 45 °C to investigate the impact of box size, insulation material, liquid vs. dry filling products, filling degree and other parameters on the thermal performance of insulated boxes. Model calculations and instructions are presented to predict the retention time of recommended drug storage temperatures.ResultsThe measurements and the model calculations showed that the loading of the transport boxes with additional water bottles to increase the heat capacity is appropriate to prolong the retention time of the recommended temperature range of the drugs. Insulated transport boxes are not suitable to store drugs over a period of more than approximately 12 h. For practical use a recipe is presented to measure the thermal properties of a transport box and the related retention time for which the recommended storage temperatures can be assured.ConclusionsThe following principles for drug transportation in vehicles are recommended: (1) Before transfer into boxes, drugs should always be thermally preconditioned (2) Increase the filling degree of the boxes with thermally preconditioned water bottles or re-usable thermal packs will increase the heat capacity. Do not deep-freeze the bottles or packs below 0 °C to avoid drug freezing due to contact. (3) Open the lid of the boxes only to uncase drugs that are immediately needed. (4) The bigger the box and the higher the filling degree, the longer the retention time of the transport box. (5) Wherever possible, place the drug box at a cool site inside the vehicle. (6) The monitoring of the inside temperature of the transport boxes is recommended. By the proper use of such transport boxes the recommended temperatures can be maintained over one working day.
Highlights
The transport of veterinary drugs must comply with the general standards for drug storage
(6) The monitoring of the inside temperature of the transport boxes is recommended
By the proper use of such transport boxes the recommended temperatures can be maintained over one working day
Summary
The transport of veterinary drugs must comply with the general standards for drug storage. Many veterinary vehicles are equipped with active heating and/or cooling devices (active systems [1]) assuring recommended drug storage conditions, simple insulated transport boxes (passive systems [1]) are often used in veterinary vehicles [2]. Full list of author information is available at the end of the article as well as in emergency medical service (EMS) vehicles [3] Such boxes are especially needed for the time when the engine is in non-operating state and the air conditioning of the vehicles is not working (parking time, during consultancy). Such “simple” transport boxes must assure the maintenance of the appropriate storage temperatures of the drugs kept in them. The thermal properties of the transport boxes, which are exposed to the thermal conditions inside the vehicles, are major factors controlling the retention time for which the recommended storage temperatures can be assured.
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