A comparison of the palatability of flavored oral contrasts.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to compare the taste of computed tomography (CT) oral contrast diluted with various flavored drinks.


METHODS
We performed a prospective, blinded, controlled trial in healthy adult volunteers. Subjects were assigned to ingest four 250-mL aliquots of oral contrast media diluted in water, Crystal Light Lemonade (Kraft Food, Northfield, Ill), Tropical Punch Kool-Aid (Kraft Food), and Tropicana orange juice (Pepsi Bottling Company, Sommers, NY) in random order; and the taste of the solution was measured with a 100-mm visual analogue scale and 5-point Likert scale from very worst to best. Between-group comparison of the taste scores was performed with repeated-measures analysis of variance and pairwise t tests. The study had 80% power to detect an effect size 0.75 SDs.


RESULTS
There were 23 subjects; mean (SD) age was 33 (7.7) and 30% were female. The mean (SD) taste scores were water 12 (5), lemonade 37 (21), Kool-Aid 44 (20), and orange juice 40 (20) (P < .05). The proportion of subjects completely ingesting the contrast in water (65%) was significantly less than that with other 3 study solutions (100% each, P < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
Dilution of oral contrast media with lemonade, fruit punch, or orange juice is tastier than with water. The choice of the specific juice used to dilute the oral contrast should be individualized based on patient preferences and availability.
Arya
Rajiv
R
Department of Emergency Medicine, Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, NY 11794-8350, USA.
Hansen
Allison
A
Taira
Breena R
BR
Packy
Theodore
T
Singer
Adam J
AJ
D000328:Adult; D001628:Beverages; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005421:Flavoring Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013649:Taste; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D055815:Young Adult
D003287:Contrast Media; D005421:Flavoring Agents