Related Experiment Videos
Randomized, double blind comparison of brand and generic antibiotic suspensions: II. A study of taste and compliance
G M El-Chaar1, G Mardy, K Wehlou
1St. John's University College of Pharmacy, Jamaica, NY, USA.
Background:
The taste of oral liquid medications influences compliance in children. Generic preparations are prescribed to reduce cost and may taste worse than brand name products.
Methods:
This was a prospective, randomized, double blind, crossover trial of the differences in taste and compliance between brand and generic antibiotic suspensions in children 3 to 14 years of age. Verbal and visual assessment methods were used to assess taste, and compliance was measured by the amount of drug returned after use.
Results:
Ten children in each of the cephalexin and erythromycin-sulfisoxazole groups did not report that the brand and generic formulations tasted differently. Fifteen children thought that brand trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole tasted better than the generic preparation.
Conclusions:
Brand name oral liquid antibiotics do not necessarily taste better than their generic counterparts. Despite preference for the taste of brand trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, all of the children in this study were compliant with both brand and generic medications.