55th European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN 2023) Annual Meeting

The ileal bile acid transporter (IBAT) inhibitor maralixibat appears to quell itching and reduce serum bile acid concentration in children with progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC), while having a tolerable safety profile, according to data from the phase III MARCH-PFIC trial said to be the largest to date.

In a pooled analysis of two long-term paediatric extension trials evaluating short bowel syndrome-associated intestinal failure (SBS-IF), the glucagon-like peptide-2 analogue teduglutide (TED) demonstrated a safety profile that aligned with previous data.

For adolescents with treatment-refractory irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is safe and beneficial, easing abdominal pain and improving health-related quality of life, according to a study presented at ESPGHAN 2023.

A personalized nutritional counselling targeting adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) during pregnancy may be an effective strategy against childhood overweight/obesity, findings from the PREMEDI study have shown.

Patients with Alagille syndrome (AS) may benefit from treatment with odevixibat, with the phase III ASSERT study showing that its use results in rapid, sustained, and highly significant improvements in pruritus, sleep quality, as well as decreases in bile acids (BAs). Odevixibat is also well tolerated.

Use of teduglutide is effective against short bowel syndrome (SBS) in paediatric patients, although some children need a longer duration of treatment to achieve enteral autonomy, according to a Spain study presented at ESPGHAN 2023. Predictive factors of response to treatment have not been identified.