Effectiveness and safety of small vs. large doses of enteric coated pancreatic enzymes in reducing steatorrhea in children with cystic fibrosis: a prospective randomized study.
Study design (if review, criteria of inclusion for studies)
randomized crossover study
Participants
9 nourished children with CF
Interventions
patient's usual dose versus 1/4 usual dose of EC enzymes in two consecutive 7 day treatment periods within each child.
Outcome measures
serum urate (SU) and urinary uric acid (UUA), fecal fat and stool nitrogen
Main results
Large doses of EC enzymes reduced steatorrhea and increased SU and UUA. SU was normal with both treatments and UUA was normal, i.e., 17 of 18 values were between the 10th and 95th percentiles for healthy children eating a normal diet. When fat excretion was greater than 10% with small doses of EC enzymes, large doses resulted in reduced fat excretion and normal UUA.
Authors' conclusions
These data suggest that large doses of EC enzymes reduce steatorrhea and are safe in patients who have malabsorbtion with small doses.