A Pilot Study of Ketotifen in Patients Aged 8-17 Years with Functional Dyspepsia Associated with Mucosal Eosinophilia.

Background and objective: Mast cells have been implicated in abdominal pain-associated disorders of gut-brain interaction, such as functional dyspepsia. As such, ketotifen, a second-generation antihistamine and mast cell stabilizer, could represent a viable treatment option in these conditions. The primary aim of the current pilot study was to assess clinical response to ketotifen and assess pharmacokinetics in youth with functional dyspepsia.

Methods: We conducted a pilot randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial of ketotifen in 11 youth with functional dyspepsia and duodenal mucosal eosinophilia with 4 weeks of active treatment at a dose of 1 mg twice daily. Global clinical response was graded on a 5-point Likert Scale. A single plasma sample was obtained at steady state for pharmacokinetic analysis.

Results: Ketotifen was not superior to placebo with regard to global clinical response. Only 18% of patients demonstrated a complete or near-complete clinical response. The estimated half-life was 3.3 h.

Conclusions: While ketotifen was not superior to placebo, this study highlights several important challenges for developing drug trials for youth with chronic abdominal pain. Recommendations are made for designing a larger treatment trial for ketotifen in this patient group.

Clinical trial registration: This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02484248.