[A blinded comparison of palatability of 13 common pediatric antibiotic suspensions].

UNLABELLED: Non-compliance is one of the leading reasons of therapy failure in case of antibiotherapy of respiratory tract infections in children. The organoleptic characteristic of the antibiotic suspension has strong influence on compliance in children. The aim of the present study was to compare taste and the other organoleptic factors of commonly prescribed antibiotics in order to find which of them are palatable to the extent which may positively influence patient compliance.

METHODS

13 antibiotic suspensions were arbitrary chosen for the comparison. These drugs were blindly evaluated by 25 volunteers as to the appearance, smell, texture, taste and aftertaste compared to amoxycillin (Amotaks) as a reference dug. The overall score was calculated, as well. In the statistical analysis Duncan's test was used.

RESULTS

The important diversity of scores of assessed antibiotics was observed in every category. In most cases clindamycin and macrolides obtained the lowest scores, penicillins and co-trimoxazol--medium ones and cephalosporins--the best scores. Among penicillins, amoxicillins with clavulanic acids were scored lower than pure amoxicillins. In overall score, different preparations of the same substance obtained similar scores, statistically non-different, with one exception for clarithromycin, in which Klacid was characterized by better palatability.

CONCLUSION

Observed differences in organoleptic characteristics of studied drugs may significantly influence patient compliance and therefore should be taken into consideration in the case of antibiotic selection for the treatment of infection in children.