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Taste of Medicines in Children

Taste of Medicines in Children: Genetic Variation and Medication Adherence

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04220918
Enrollment
136
Registered
2020-01-07
Start date
2020-02-14
Completion date
2023-02-01
Last updated
2023-03-06

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Medication Adherence, Medication Reaction

Keywords

pediatrics, personalized medicine, GWAS, Taste, Side effects, clindamycin

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.

Interventions

None listed

Sponsors

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
CollaboratorNIH
Monell Chemical Senses Center
CollaboratorOTHER
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
3 Years to 12 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

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

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Palatability of clindamycin liquidImmediately after dosingTaste 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 minutesDigital recordings will be analyzed for child's facial and body movements by blinded and trained reviewers

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Medication tolerance and side effects with clindamycin use5-14 day treatment regimen given two-three times a dayMedication tolerance and side effects to medication will be measured through direct observation, parent report, and medical records
Treatment adherence5-14 day treatment regimen given two-three times a dayAdherence to treatment course will be measured by parental report aided by a medication diary
Clinical outcomeswithin 1 week after completion of therapyClinical 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
Genome-wide association3 yearssalivary DNA

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026