Elgammal Ayat, Ryan Joseph, Bradley Colin, Crean Abina, Bermingham Margaret
Pharmaceutical Care Research Group, School of Pharmacy, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
SSPC Pharmaceutical Research Centre, School of Pharmacy, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Fam Pract. 2024 Dec 2;41(6):962-969. doi: 10.1093/fampra/cmad071.
Palatability is a key element of paediatric acceptability for medicines. Many patient and drug factors are considered when choosing an antibiotic for a child. Pharmacists report that they receive questions about the palatability of oral liquid antibiotics for children. This study aimed to explore the experiences of GPs and pharmacists concerning palatability of oral liquid antibiotics for children.
A questionnaire about the impact of palatability on the choice of antibiotic formulation for children was emailed to all community pharmacists in Ireland and to GPs and trainee GPs in the Cork region and posted on social media. Survey items were not compulsory; therefore, percentage responses were calculated based on the number of responses to that item. GP and pharmacist responses were analysed independently.
Responses were received from 244 participants (59 GPs, 185 pharmacists). Clinical guidelines and availability of supply were the most important factors considered when choosing an oral liquid antibiotic formulation for children by GP (79.7%) and pharmacist (66.5%) respondents respectively. Forty GP respondents (76.9%) reported ensuring adherence was the most common palatability-related reason leading to deviation from guidelines. Pharmacist respondents (52%) reported advising a parent/caregiver to manipulate the required antibiotic dose to improve acceptability. The least palatable oral liquid antibiotics reported were flucloxacillin (16% GPs, 18% pharmacists) and clarithromycin (17% of each profession).
This study identified palatability issues associated with oral liquid antibiotics for children reported by GPs and pharmacists. Pharmaceutical approaches to adapting oral liquid antibiotic formulations must be developed to improve palatability and thus paediatric acceptability.
口感是儿童对药物接受度的关键因素。为儿童选择抗生素时会考虑许多患者和药物因素。药剂师报告称，他们会收到关于儿童口服液体抗生素口感的问题。本研究旨在探讨全科医生（GP）和药剂师在儿童口服液体抗生素口感方面的经验。
一份关于口感对儿童抗生素剂型选择影响的问卷通过电子邮件发送给爱尔兰所有社区药剂师以及科克地区的全科医生和实习全科医生，并发布在社交媒体上。调查项目非强制性；因此，百分比回复是基于对该项目的回复数量计算得出的。对全科医生和药剂师的回复进行独立分析。
共收到244名参与者的回复（59名全科医生，185名药剂师）。临床指南和药品供应情况分别是全科医生（79.7%）和药剂师（66.5%）在为儿童选择口服液体抗生素剂型时考虑的最重要因素。40名全科医生回复者（76.9%）报告称确保依从性是导致偏离指南的最常见的与口感相关的原因。药剂师回复者（52%）报告称建议家长/照顾者调整所需抗生素剂量以提高接受度。报告中口感最差的口服液体抗生素是氟氯西林（全科医生16%，药剂师18%）和克拉霉素（两个职业均为17%）。
本研究确定了全科医生和药剂师报告的与儿童口服液体抗生素相关的口感问题。必须开发调整口服液体抗生素剂型的药学方法以改善口感，从而提高儿童接受度。
