Pharmaceutical historical research of patent preparations manufactured in Lithuanian pharmacies during 1926 – 1939

The aim of the research was to determine pharmaceutical and historical aspects of patent preparations manufactured in Lithuanian pharmacies during 1926 – 1939. Objectives: 1. To determine the change in the number of new patent preparations manufactured in Lithuanian pharmacies each year during 1926 – 1939. 2. To determine the names of pharmacists who created patent preparations, locations of their pharmacies and the properties of preparation names. 3. To reveal routes of administration of patent preparations, the variety of dosage forms and the purpose of preparations. 4. To identify the origins of constituents used in the manufacturing of patent medicines. Object and methods. The object of research were five “Files of preparations manufactured in Lithuania“ spanning the periods of 1921 – 1928 and 1931 – 1939. Content analysis method was used to carry out a historical research. ,,Microsoft Excel“ program was used to sort and process data. Statistical analysis was carried out using z test and applying a double hypothesis. Results. During 1926 – 1933 each year there were less new patent preparations being created. An increase is seen later on. Pharmacists who created patent preparations worked in 24 pharmacies. 55 preparations were supposed to be administered orally, 24 were to be administered locally on the skin and 9 were to be administered on mucous membranes. There were 20 various dosage forms. The preparations were grouped according to their purpose: medicinal preparations, homeopathic preparations, hygiene products, household utensils, veterinary medicinal preparations. 56 % of constituents were of plant origin, 23 % were synthetic, 17 % of mineral origin and 4 % of animal origin. Conclusions. The decrease of new patent preparations can be explained by the increase in competition. Pharmacists named their preparations according to these principles: a) preparation constituents or indications; b) naming a new preparation after other preparation that has been already established on the market; c) trying to create a brand name. Patent preparation dosage forms most often were powders, solutions, tablets, mixtures and ointments. Most common use of preparations were medicinal preparations while most commonly used constituents were of plant origin