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Oral steroids are commonly prescribed for pediatric patients who are sent home from the emergency department after acute asthma exacerbations. If the prescribed medication is unpalatable, children may not take it, and, unfortunately, oral steroids are notoriously vile tasting. These authors conducted a blinded taste test of 3 oral steroid preparations.
Five-mL preparations of prednisolone (1 mg/mL), dexamethasone (0.1 mg/mL), and prednisone (1 mg/mL) each were placed in paper cups labeled A, B, and C and tasted in alphabetical order. Eighty-six adult volunteers graded smell, texture, taste, and aftertaste on a 5-point Likert scale (1=most negative, 3=neutral, and 5=most positive). Prednisone had the lowest scores in all 4 categories. Compare…