Administration routes standard terms

European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines (EDQM) (2004) List of standard terms for pharmaceutical dosage forms, routes of administration and containers, 5th edn. Council of Europe, Strasbourg... 

EDQM. Pharmeuropa. Special issue. Standard terms, pharmaceutical dosage forms, routes of administration, containers. (Subscribers only) http //www.edqm.eu/StandardTerms... 

It is advised to develop a procedure for the way in which the name and strength of a preparation is given. The lists with standard terms of the EDQM for dosage forms, administration routes and containers are recommended. In Chaps. 4-14 these standards have been used. 

The uppermost zone of the label shows the route of administration, if this not the oral one. Officially the Standard Terms of the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and Health Care (EDQM) [6] should be used, but in some countries all non-oral routes may be indicated as Not to be taken . A more specific term such as Eye drops, Ear drops or For rectal use is to be preferred. Some patients may not know the meaning of the term rectal use . Also the words Not to be taken sometimes need explanation, for instance in the case of a mouth rinse. 

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