Current Best Evidence
Palatability of oral rehydration solutions varies but does not impact quantity consumed

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Question

Among children seen in the emergency department, how palatable are 3 different oral rehydration solutions?

Design

Prospective, blinded, randomized, 3-period, 3-treatment crossover trial.

Setting

Emergency department of a tertiary care pediatric hospital in Canada.

Participants

Children aged 5 to 10 years (n = 66) with concerns unrelated to the gastrointestinal tract.

Intervention

Each participant consumed as much of each solution (Enfalyte [Mead Johnson Nutritionals, Evansvill, Indiana], Pedialyte [Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Illinois], and Pediatric Electrolyte [PendoPharm, Mont-Royal, Quebec, Canada]) as they desired during a 15-minute period.

Outcomes

The primary outcome was each child's rating of taste as measured on a 100-mm visual analog scale (worst taste, 0 mm; best taste, 100 mm). Secondary outcome measures were volume consumed, willingness to consume each liquid again, and the most favored liquid.

Main Results

All enrolled patients completed all 3 study periods. A significant carryover effect was detected for taste scores (P = .03), which were significantly different with and without adjustment for the carryover effect (P < .001). Unadjusted values were 65 mm for Pedialyte, 58 mm for Pediatric Electrolyte, and 23 mm for Enfalyte. Differences in mean volume consumed were not significant (Enfalyte, 15 mL; Pediatric Electrolyte, 17 mL; and Pedialyte, 22 mL [P = .44]). The proportion of children who

Conclusions

Sucralose-sweetened oral rehydration solutions (Pedialyte and Pediatric Electrolyte) were significantly more palatable than was a comparable rice-based solution (Enfalyte).

Commentary

This study is interesting and should be considered in view of 3 points. First, consider the choice of a randomized crossover trial (alternating solutions with a 5-minute washout periods) over parallel design (different patients tasting different formulations). There is likely importance to the first formulation tasted. One may consider a potential bias when scoring the second and third formulations when a child experienced an unpleasant or a very good taste the first time around. This carryover

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Cited by (1)

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    2015, Jornal de Pediatria
    Citation Excerpt :

    Considering this fact, a way to improve this scenario has been sought. Flavored ORS, present in some commercial products, increases its palatability, but it does not appear to modify the consumed volume.24 The addition of zinc, prebiotics, amino acids, disaccharides, and glucose polymers has resulted in only a modest improvement in ORS effectiveness.9

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