BACKGROUND: A belief that brand oral liquid medications taste better than their generic counterparts may influence prescribing habits among pediatricians. METHODS: We undertook a prospective, randomized, double blinded, comparative evaluation of the taste of brand and generic erythromycin ethylsuccinate, cephalexin monohydrate, erythromycin ethylsuccinate/sulfisoxazole, penicillin V potassium and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in 42 adult volunteers. Subjects tasted one class of brand and generic antibiotics and rated them according to smell, texture, taste and aftertaste. RESULTS: At least one generic preparation of cephalexin, erythromycin ethylsuccinate/sulfisoxazole andpenicillin V potassium was rated equal in taste to the respective brand name products. However, brand erythromycin estolate and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole name brand suspensions rated significantly higher than the other products tested. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our results brand name oral antibiotic formulations do not necessarily taste better than their generic counterparts.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: A belief that brand oral liquid medications taste better than their generic counterparts may influence prescribing habits among pediatricians. METHODS: We undertook a prospective, randomized, double blinded, comparative evaluation of the taste of brand and generic erythromycin ethylsuccinate, cephalexin monohydrate, erythromycin ethylsuccinate/sulfisoxazole, penicillin V potassium and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in 42 adult volunteers. Subjects tasted one class of brand and generic antibiotics and rated them according to smell, texture, taste and aftertaste. RESULTS: At least one generic preparation of cephalexin, erythromycin ethylsuccinate/sulfisoxazole and penicillin V potassium was rated equal in taste to the respective brand name products. However, brand erythromycin estolate and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole name brand suspensions rated significantly higher than the other products tested. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our results brand name oral antibiotic formulations do not necessarily taste better than their generic counterparts.
Authors: Nakissa Sadrieh; James Brower; Lawrence Yu; William Doub; Arthur Straughn; Stella Machado; Frank Pelsor; Emmanuelle Saint Martin; Terry Moore; John Reepmeyer; Duckhee Toler; Agnes Nguyenpho; Rosemary Roberts; Donald J Schuirmann; Moheb Nasr; Lucinda Buhse Journal: Pharm Res Date: 2005-09-22 Impact factor: 4.200