Gluten-Free Options for the Top 100 Pediatric Medications

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Pharmacology
• Gastroenterology
• Food Science

Background:

• Celiac disease and gluten sensitivities are increasingly diagnosed, particularly in children.
• Existing resources for determining medication gluten content are often incomplete and adult-focused.
• There is a critical need for accurate gluten information specific to pediatric medications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the gluten-free status of the 100 most frequently dispensed pediatric medications.
• To identify potential risks for pediatric patients with celiac disease due to medication gluten content.
• To highlight gaps in current information regarding pediatric medication gluten levels.

Main Methods:

• Identified the top 100 pediatric medications using the Optum Clinformatics Data Mart database.
• Obtained National Drug Codes (NDCs) and manufacturer information for each identified medication.
• Contacted drug manufacturers directly to inquire about gluten content and cross-contamination protocols.

Main Results:

• Analysis of 689 NDCs revealed that 50.2% of pediatric medications are documented as gluten-free.
• A significant portion of medications could not confirm gluten-free status or cross-contamination (22.6% confirmed gluten-free, but cross-contamination unknown; 25.7% could not confirm gluten-free status).
• Only 1.5% of evaluated medications were confirmed to contain gluten, but data may evolve with manufacturing changes.

Conclusions:

• Pediatric medications exhibit varied gluten content, differing from adult formulations.
• There is a notable lack of comprehensive and accessible information on the gluten content of pediatric medications.
• Developing a dedicated resource for pediatric medication gluten content is essential to support children with celiac disease.