Prescribing for children - taste and palatability affect adherence to antibiotics: a review
Prescribing for children - taste and palatability affect adherence to antibiotics: a review
The taste of an antibiotic is often not taken into account by practitioners, although there is significant evidence to show palatability correlates strongly with adherence. Many parents will be familiar with the difficulties of convincing young children to take bitter, unfamiliar medicine. Certain drugs, for example flucloxacillin, are so unpalatable that they should not be prescribed as syrups without prior ‘taste testing’ in an individual child, while others, such as oral cephalosporins, are accepted very well although they are more expensive with a broader antimicrobial spectrum than may be strictly necessary. Palatability is important in the broader context of global child health as regards the successful treatment of malaria, HIV and dehydration. The hidden cost of poor adherence resulting treatment failure, complications and the development of drug resistance cannot be over emphasised. Prescribing should involve parents, children and practitioners in an open discussion around the most suitable, palatable formulations for successful treatment outcomes.
293-297
Baguley, Dave
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Lim, Emma
e78e48f2-5cb7-42e4-9619-044b7fd35444
Bevan, Amanda
22780ba6-52a9-417f-b469-f36f64b9c8fc
Pallet, A
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Faust, Saul N.
f97df780-9f9b-418e-b349-7adf63e150c1
March 2012
Baguley, Dave
f9b0e6eb-b0bd-4acf-903f-67dc2e661c2a
Lim, Emma
e78e48f2-5cb7-42e4-9619-044b7fd35444
Bevan, Amanda
22780ba6-52a9-417f-b469-f36f64b9c8fc
Pallet, A
86010445-ecc0-4a13-8af9-a3ef474e7e48
Faust, Saul N.
f97df780-9f9b-418e-b349-7adf63e150c1
Baguley, Dave, Lim, Emma, Bevan, Amanda, Pallet, A and Faust, Saul N.
(2012)
Prescribing for children - taste and palatability affect adherence to antibiotics: a review.
Archives of Disease in Childhood, 97 (3), .
(doi:10.1136/archdischild-2011-300909).
(PMID:22088684)
Abstract
The taste of an antibiotic is often not taken into account by practitioners, although there is significant evidence to show palatability correlates strongly with adherence. Many parents will be familiar with the difficulties of convincing young children to take bitter, unfamiliar medicine. Certain drugs, for example flucloxacillin, are so unpalatable that they should not be prescribed as syrups without prior ‘taste testing’ in an individual child, while others, such as oral cephalosporins, are accepted very well although they are more expensive with a broader antimicrobial spectrum than may be strictly necessary. Palatability is important in the broader context of global child health as regards the successful treatment of malaria, HIV and dehydration. The hidden cost of poor adherence resulting treatment failure, complications and the development of drug resistance cannot be over emphasised. Prescribing should involve parents, children and practitioners in an open discussion around the most suitable, palatable formulations for successful treatment outcomes.
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Published date: March 2012
Organisations:
Faculty of Medicine
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Local EPrints ID: 339250
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/339250
ISSN: 0003-9888
PURE UUID: 4a47a178-4b94-4fed-bcf7-d0e6274d12e0
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Date deposited: 25 May 2012 11:22
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:25
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Author:
Dave Baguley
Author:
Emma Lim
Author:
Amanda Bevan
Author:
A Pallet
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