The Past, Present, and Future of Oral Dosage Forms for Children

Abstract

The administration of medications to children has been a challenge for parents and caregivers for generations. Pharmaceutical companies have often overcome the difficulties of weight-based dosing and the ­inability of most young children to swallow solid dosage forms by creating oral liquids. While oral liquids ­offer advantages in terms of dose flexibility, swallowability, and ease of administration for young children and patients with enteral tubes, they have been plagued by issues such as taste, volume, and texture, to name a few. While the recommendations for broader use of oral syringes can help with the issue of measuring accuracy and incremental dosing, the issues of poor taste and frequently unacceptable volumes for doses remain a problem. New oral dosage forms which have begun to enter the United States marketplace have the potential to improve adherence and acceptability of oral medications for children, but come with their own unique challenges.