Poor-tasting pediatric medicines: Part 1. A scoping review of their impact on patient acceptability, medication adherence, and treatment outcomes.

ABSTRACT: Many medicines for children taste bitter and unpleasant, presenting a significant barrier to effective pharmacotherapy. Anecdotally, this issue is widely recognized; however, empirical evidence on the consequences of unpalatable medicines remains scarce and fragmented. The objective of this scoping review was to investigate the impact of poor tasting pediatric medicines on patient acceptability, medication adherence, and/or treatment outcomes. A literature search was performed in MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE and CINAHL from inception to June 2023. Eligibility criteria included interventional or observational studies conducted in children aged 0-18 years (population), administered an unpalatable oral medicine (exposure), with any reported impact on patient acceptability, medication adherence, and

SUBMITTER: Ranmal SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12360445 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature