Introduction: The incidence of pediatric celiac disease has risen and many of these children will receive medications at some time in their life. However, the absorption of drugs in pediatric patients with celiac disease has never been studied. The few studies that do exist have only been performed in adults and indicate that drug concentrations can be altered for some drugs. It is also noteworthy that few researchers have conducted studies to determine if the distribution, metabolism, and excretion of drugs are altered in celiac disease.
Areas covered: The pharmacokinetics of drugs greatly differ between children and adults. Combined with the pathophysiological changes known to occur with celiac disease, there is compelling evidence to support that drug exposure in pediatric celiac disease may be altered. Relevant characteristics of celiac disease that may affect drug disposition include intestinal atrophy, hypoalbuminemia, reduced CYP3A enzymes, and thyroid dysfunction.
Expert opinion: The safety and efficacy of drug dosing in children with celiac disease can be enhanced with additional pharmacokinetic studies of commonly prescribed drugs in this population. Ideally, these studies should include drugs that have high bioavailability, are highly protein bound, undergo extensive CYP3A enzyme metabolism, and/or have a narrow therapeutic range.
Keywords: celiac disease; celiac sprue; children; coeliac disease; drug absorption; gluten sensitive enteropathy; intestinal villous atrophy; malabsoprtion; pediatric; pharmacokinetics.