Taste of Medicines in Children

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Medication Reaction; Medication Adherence

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT04220918

19-016182

R01DC011287 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

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.

Full 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.

Enrollment: 136 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 3 to 12 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

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