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Acceptance of antibiotic mixtures by infants and children
Insights
Children accepted erythromycin ethylsuccinate more readily when flavored differently, with nurses taking less time to administer it. Flavoring significantly impacts pediatric drug acceptance, unlike with phenoxymethyl-penicillin potassium.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pharmacology
- Drug Formulation
- Clinical Trial Design
Background:
- Pediatric medication adherence is often challenging due to palatability issues.
- Flavoring agents are commonly used to improve the acceptance of oral medications in children.
- Objective comparison of flavoring effects on drug acceptance in pediatric populations is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the acceptance of two phenoxymethyl-penicillin potassium and erythromycin ethylsuccinate mixtures in children.
- To evaluate the impact of different flavoring agents on drug administration time and nurse-assessed acceptance.
- To determine if administration time is a reliable indicator of drug acceptance in pediatric patients.
Main Methods:
- A randomized, blind study was conducted with pediatric participants.
- Two pharmacologically identical drug mixtures (phenoxymethyl-penicillin potassium and erythromycin ethylsuccinate) with different flavors were used.
- Nurses recorded the time taken to administer the drug and provided an acceptance score for each child.
Main Results:
- Erythromycin ethylsuccinate Brand 2 (16s) was administered significantly faster than Brand 1 (29s) (p<0.05).
- Nurse-assessed acceptance scores favored Brand 2 (3.4) over Brand 1 (2.9) for erythromycin ethylsuccinate (p<0.025).
- No significant difference in administration time or acceptance was observed between the two phenoxymethyl-penicillin potassium products.
Conclusions:
- Flavoring agents significantly influence the acceptance of erythromycin ethylsuccinate in children.
- Administration time serves as a practical and significant metric for assessing drug acceptance in pediatric studies.
- Flavor optimization is essential for improving medication delivery and adherence in pediatric care.
Abstract:
The acceptance by children of two pharmacologically identical phenoxymethyl-penicillin potassium and erythromycin ethylsuccinate mixtures, differing only in their flavouring agents, was compared in a randomised blind manner. The time a nurse required to give the drug to a child was recorded and a score of the acceptance was given by the nurse. The mean time to give erythromycin Brand 1 was 29 s (SD +/- 21, number of children = 20) and mean time to give Brand 2 it was 16 s (SD +/- 13, n = 18); the difference was significant (p less than 0.05). The mean scores were 2.9 (SD +/- 0.6) and 3.4 (SD +/- 0.5), difference -0.5 (p less than 0.025). The difference between the two penicillin products was not significant. The time required to give a medicine was a useful way to compare the effect of different flavouring mixtures on the acceptance of drugs by infants and children.