G Hoddinott, H R Draper, N Vanqa, S Myeni, S Staples, T Sachs, M Raffique, N Tshethu, M Palmer, L Viljoen, K Inabathina, R Taneja, A C Hesseling, A J Garcia-Prats
{"title":"Children's preferences among six novel moxifloxacin and linezolid-dispersible tablet formulations.","authors":"G Hoddinott, H R Draper, N Vanqa, S Myeni, S Staples, T Sachs, M Raffique, N Tshethu, M Palmer, L Viljoen, K Inabathina, R Taneja, A C Hesseling, A J Garcia-Prats","doi":"10.5588/ijtldopen.24.0546","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Moxifloxacin (MFX) and linezolid (LZD) are key components of rifampicin-resistant TB treatment regimens. Currently, available dispersible tablet formulations of both drugs have poor palatability in children. We evaluated children's preferences for more child-friendly formulations from two generic manufacturers.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This was a randomised, cross-sectional 'swish-and-spit' taste panel study at two sites in South Africa. Each manufacturer created three flavour-blend variants for each drug. Healthy child volunteers 5-17 years old were sampled stratified by age, sex, and ethnic group and completed a preference rank-ordering and five acceptability 5-point Likert scales. We explored the blends' acceptability using summary, comparative, and ranking statistics.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Ninety-seven and 96 children contributed data for the MFX and LZD drug blends, respectively. For both manufacturers' MFX blends, the Friedman test showed children had a statistically significant preference for novel options over the Existing blend (Q(2) = 24,937; <i>P</i> < 0.001, and Q(2) = 21.213; <i>P</i> < 0.001, respectively). Even the most preferred MFX blend had sub-optimal acceptability, especially for one manufacturer. Children did not have a clear preference for both manufacturers' LZD blends. These findings were not influenced by age, sex, or ethnic group.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Children across a broad age spectrum can provide meaningful input on the palatability preferences of TB drug formulations. Novel MFX formulation blends were recommended for development, but acceptability remains suboptimal.</p>","PeriodicalId":519984,"journal":{"name":"IJTLD open","volume":"2 4","pages":"208-216"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11984522/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"IJTLD open","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.5588/ijtldopen.24.0546","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/4/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Moxifloxacin (MFX) and linezolid (LZD) are key components of rifampicin-resistant TB treatment regimens. Currently, available dispersible tablet formulations of both drugs have poor palatability in children. We evaluated children's preferences for more child-friendly formulations from two generic manufacturers.
Methods: This was a randomised, cross-sectional 'swish-and-spit' taste panel study at two sites in South Africa. Each manufacturer created three flavour-blend variants for each drug. Healthy child volunteers 5-17 years old were sampled stratified by age, sex, and ethnic group and completed a preference rank-ordering and five acceptability 5-point Likert scales. We explored the blends' acceptability using summary, comparative, and ranking statistics.
Results: Ninety-seven and 96 children contributed data for the MFX and LZD drug blends, respectively. For both manufacturers' MFX blends, the Friedman test showed children had a statistically significant preference for novel options over the Existing blend (Q(2) = 24,937; P < 0.001, and Q(2) = 21.213; P < 0.001, respectively). Even the most preferred MFX blend had sub-optimal acceptability, especially for one manufacturer. Children did not have a clear preference for both manufacturers' LZD blends. These findings were not influenced by age, sex, or ethnic group.
Conclusion: Children across a broad age spectrum can provide meaningful input on the palatability preferences of TB drug formulations. Novel MFX formulation blends were recommended for development, but acceptability remains suboptimal.