Barnett Steven, Bhatt Aomesh
Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare Hull UK.
Reckitt Benckiser Research & Development Berkshire UK.
Paediatr Neonatal Pain. 2020 Feb 10;2(1):2-6. doi: 10.1002/pne2.12013. eCollection 2020 Mar.
The development of palatable and acceptable analgesics for children is a major challenge. Given the majority of medications are administered orally, and children are more sensitive to and less tolerant of bitterness, novel "child-friendly" preparations need to be developed and tested specifically in this patient population. This study investigated the palatability and acceptability of a therapeutic dose of ibuprofen in the form of soft chewable capsules in 100 healthy children aged 7-12 years of age and the acceptability of this novel preparation to their caregivers. About 97% of children adhered to a full therapeutic age-related dose, with 72% of these participants rating the preparation as acceptable on a hedonic facial scale. Despite 22% of children noting a "hot, spicy, or burning" sensation, consistent with known chemesthetic effects of ibuprofen, 83% of children confirmed they would take the medication in future, which rose to 87% in the context of future illness. In addition, after observing their children ingesting the medication, 92% of parents/guardians confirmed that they would be happy to administer this preparation of ibuprofen to their child if they were unwell. In conclusion, ibuprofen administered in the form of soft chewable capsules was palatable and acceptable to the majority of children and their parents/guardians and may provide a convenient and easy to dose preparation to reduce fever and relieve pain in children.
开发适合儿童口味且可接受的镇痛药是一项重大挑战。鉴于大多数药物是口服给药，而儿童对苦味更敏感且耐受性更低，因此需要开发并专门针对该患者群体测试新型“儿童友好型”制剂。本研究调查了100名7至12岁健康儿童对治疗剂量的布洛芬软咀嚼胶囊剂型的适口性和可接受性，以及这种新型制剂对其照顾者的可接受性。约97%的儿童坚持服用了与年龄相关的全治疗剂量，其中72%的参与者在享乐面部量表上对该制剂的评价为可接受。尽管22%的儿童指出有“热、辣或灼烧”感，这与布洛芬已知的化学感觉效应一致，但83%的儿童确认他们未来会服用该药物，在未来生病的情况下这一比例上升至87%。此外，在观察到他们的孩子服用药物后，92%的父母/监护人确认，如果孩子身体不适，他们会乐意给孩子服用这种布洛芬制剂。总之，以软咀嚼胶囊形式给药的布洛芬对大多数儿童及其父母/监护人来说是可口且可接受的，并且可能为降低儿童发热和缓解疼痛提供一种方便且易于给药的制剂。
