[Factors influencing the acceptability of pediatric galenic formulations]

Few available galenic formulations of drugs have pediatric doses, so that many of them are used off label in children. The influence of such pharmaceutical formulation on therapeutic adherence was evaluated in a systematic review of the literature.

This search was performed in 4 data bases: Medline, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Science Direct. Included articles were in French or English and focused on therapeutic adherence and route of administration.

Overall, 51 articles were included in the study: 46 from Medline (27 selected), 1 from The Cochrane Library (1 duplicate), 61 from Web of Science (13 selected) and 23 articles from Science Direct (11 selected). The two main pharmaceutical formulations studied were liquid dosage form 51% (n=28) and solid oral form 35% (n=19).

Easy use of liquid forms (n=18) (easy dose adjustment and administration) was associated with good adherence. Optimization of organoleptic properties was found to improve adherence (n=20). The main limitations to the use of solid oral formulations are the risk of choking in a child under 6 and difficulty adapting doses for pediatric use. Commercialization of minitablets should help solve these problems (n=3) and therapeutic education sessions could make it possible to prescribe selected pills to children aged 4 or older (n=2). A risk of misuse because of incorrect administration seems to be the reason that aerosols are underused.

Drug formulation influences therapeutic adherence in children, which is a cornerstone for successful pharmacotherapeutic management.