Anthropometric Exclusions in Pediatric Clinical Trials: Implications for Medication Dosing in Malnourished Children

Malnutrition occurs at higher rates in children with complex medical conditions and can independently influence drug disposition and action. Yet FDA-approved product labels rarely address dosing in malnutrition. This study explores the extent to which malnourished children are expressly excluded from clinical trials. Industry-sponsored, pediatric, phase I-III studies deposited in ClinicalTrials.Gov through December 2024 with a full study protocol were reviewed. Protocols were evaluated for inclusion and exclusion (I/E) criteria related to anthropometric and clinical indicators of malnutrition. I/E criteria were fully characterized along with the study phase, intervention type, and treatment indication. 9882 studies were identified, 1759 with an uploaded protocol. 616 studies (35%) contained 777 distinct I/E criteria related to malnutrition (1-6 per study). Across all protocols, 71% exclusively restricted participation of children with evidence of undernutrition, 9% with overnutrition, and 20% with both. There were no statistical differences observed based on intervention type, though differences by study phase were observed. Restrictions were seen most frequently for respiratory, mental/behavioral, obstetric/perinatal, and emergency use indications and least frequently for dermatologic, oncologic, and eyes, ears, nose, and throat disorders. Non-specific I/E criteria suggest that these findings likely underestimate the extent of malnutrition-based exclusions. Despite growing attention paid to obesity, pediatric clinical trials are far more likely to restrict the participation of undernourished children. Though unrealistic to relax malnutrition related I/E criteria for all studies, consideration should be given for conditions where high rates of malnutrition are expected to avoid trial populations that do not reflect clinical practice.