Study Shows Flavoring Improves Quality Of Life Scores & Compliance At Children's Hospital

Main Category: Compliance
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 21 Dec 2006 - 2:00 PDT

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An independent study from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital showed that the addition of flavoring to medicine can improve compliance and quality of life scores drastically in pediatric patients. These results indicate that flavoring can significantly enhance treatment programs for children admitted to the hospital.

As many hospitals and healthcare practitioners know, the bitter taste of medications can have a negative impact on compliance, and add significant strain to treatment programs for pediatric patients. A recent study from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital showed that commercially-available flavorings (FLAVORx) significantly impacted compliance among children admitted to the hospital. Results suggest that patient compliance, concerns associated with inappropriate dosing and quality of life issues were all considerably improved among all patients that included flavoring in their treatment programs. These initial results indicate that flavoring not only saves money by reducing the number of wasted (spit out) doses, but also reduces the strain of being in an unfamiliar hospital environment.

Oftentimes, taste alone can be enough to deter a child from ingesting a medication, taking medications properly or fully completing medication regimens. Though commonly misunderstood, this rejection is rarely the result of a child's desire to be picky or 'fussy,' but an actual physical inability to swallow an unpalatable substance.

"The rejection of bitter taste by children is reflecting basic biology," says Dr. Julie Mennella, PhD of the Monell Chemical Senses Center. Detecting 'flavor' actually refers to a complex sensation of taste, touch, smell, sight and sound, all of which combine to produce the perception of a substance. Physically, a child's sense of taste is much more sensitive than an adult's, and psychologically children are more inclined to automatically reject medications when they have had previous negative experiences. Dr. Paul Breslin of Monell explains, "Bitter taste is really a sensation that has evolved to make you not want to ingest something."

Dr. Christine Jaderlund, head researcher and Pediatric Clinical Coordinator at the Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital conducted the study among pediatric patients admitted to the hospital with a documented 24-hour history of medication non-compliance due to unpalatable medications. Patients in the control group, who did not receive flavoring, were allowed to use conventional methods such as crushing a tablet in ice cream or mixing the medication with chocolate or cherry syrup to improve taste and smell. Results showed that the control group was noncompliant with 76% of their doses as compared to only 20% of treatment group receiving medications with FLAVORx. All of the patients in the treatment group reported taking medications in a timely fashion, whereas no one in the control group was able to report that on-time dosing had occurred.

Patients in the control group had an initial 'quality of life' score of 2.5 (out of 10), with the score improving to 3.8 after instituting conventional methods to improve palatability. However, the treatment group had an initial quality of life score of 3.5, rising to an average of 8 after the addition of flavoring. "When the kid's upset, everyone's upset," says Jaderlund. Improving the unpleasant taste of medications "definitely has made a difference, and the kids are taking their meds," she adds.

Healthcare practitioners and hospital administrators alike see the value of FLAVORx because healthcare professionals tend to waste far less medication, funds and resources. Dr. Katie Buck of Baptist Hospital explains, "If we can get a child to take a medication orally because it tastes good, than we can avoid giving a shot or an IV. This is a great advantage to us, the child and the family." Most importantly, because healthcare practitioners spend less time struggling with patients to ingest medicine, they can use time and resources efficiently to care for more patients. According to Kim Murphy-Abdough, Baptist Hospital Administrator, "It's the little things that make a difference. Having the FLAVORx Systems makes children more compliant. It seems like a small step, but it reaps huge rewards."

FLAVORx is also working with researchers and children in Thailand and the Dominican Republic on improving the taste of antiretroviral HIV/AIDS medications. "We're extremely happy with the results of Dr. Jaderlund's study," says Kenny Kramm, FLAVORx President and CEO. "If we can make the experience just a little more positive for children and help them take their medications properly, we know we're doing our job right."

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About FLAVORx
FLAVORx is a pharmaceutical flavoring system used by pharmacists and veterinarians nationwide to improve the palatability of liquid over-the-counter and prescription medications. To date, FLAVORx has flavored over 40 million prescriptions without any incidence of allergy, adverse reaction or changes in efficacy. FLAVORx flavors are non-allergenic, dye-free, sugar-free, phosphate-free and alcohol-free, making them safe for all patients.

For more information, please visit http://www.flavorx.com

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