MedPath

Taste of Medicines in Children

Completed
Conditions
Medication Adherence
Medication Reaction
Registration Number
NCT04220918
Lead Sponsor
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Brief Summary

Some but not all children will refuse to take medicine because of its taste, which can lead to substantial worsening of disease, antibiotic resistance, increased health care costs, and even death. The investigators are systematically assessing individual variation in the taste of liquid clindamycin among genotyped pediatric patients prescribed clindamycin for standard of care treatment, to determine whether (1) genetic variation underlies differences in taste ratings of the antibiotic; (2) initial taste responses, genetics, or both predict likelihood of side effects and medication non-adherence.

Detailed Description

Taste plays an integral role in whether a child accepts a medicine. Some children will like the taste of a given medicine and complete the full course of treatment, whereas others will strongly reject its taste, suffer taste-modulated side effects, or both. This study will systematically measure initial palatability and reactions to the first dose of an antibiotic (clindamycin, liquid formulation) by pediatric patients who are receiving clindamycin as part of their standard of care treatment. Saliva will be collected from all patients for GWAS. Taste response, tolerance of the medication, adherence and clinical outcomes will be assessed. Subjects will be followed to determine if they complete the prescribed medication regimen (adherence) and/or experience side effects (tolerability). Because medication-specific side effects have patient-specific variability, the investigators will determine whether the child's initial taste responses, genes, or both predict subsequent side effects and medication adherence.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
136
Inclusion Criteria
  • Children age 3 to 12
  • Child being treated in Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Being prescribed clindamycin liquid
  • Parental/guardian permission (informed consent) and if appropriate, child assent
  • Parent age 18 or older, or a minor permitted by state law to consent for their own participation and for the participation of their child
  • Parent must have primary responsibility for the patient including biologic parents and adoptive parents (if legally allowed to consent to research)
  • Parent must be English speaking and able to understand study materials
Exclusion Criteria
  • Unwilling or unable to produce saliva sample

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Palatability of clindamycin liquid10 minutes after dosing

Taste ratings by the child using a hedonic face scale (scale = 1-5; 1=dislike a lot, 2=dislike a little, 3=neither like nor dislike, 4=like a little, 5=like a lot)

Taste reactivity of clindamycin liquidImmediately after dosing for a total of 10 minutes

Digital recordings will be analyzed for child's facial and body movements by blinded and trained reviewers

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Treatment adherence5-14 day treatment regimen given two-three times a day

Adherence to treatment course will be measured by parental report aided by a medication diary

Clinical outcomeswithin 1 week after completion of therapy

Clinical outcome of infection (cured on clindamycin vs not cured on clindamycin) will be measured through medical record review and parental report during follow-up interview

Medication tolerance and side effects with clindamycin use5-14 day treatment regimen given two-three times a day

Medication tolerance and side effects to medication will be measured through direct observation, parent report, and medical records

Genome-wide association3 years

salivary DNA

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

🇺🇸

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

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