teduglutide at a glance
Medicine class
Glucagon-like peptide-2 analogue
Licensed use
Stable short bowel syndrome in adults and children from 4 months corrected gestational age
Administration
Injected under the skin after mixing the powder with its supplied solvent
Important monitoring
Fluid balance, parenteral support, bowel polyps, and hepatobiliary or pancreatic problems need specialist surveillance
What is teduglutide used for?
UK-licensed use:
Short bowel syndrome in patients aged 4 months corrected gestational age and above who are stable after intestinal adaptation following surgery.
How does teduglutide work?
Teduglutide is a longer-acting analogue of the natural intestinal hormone GLP-2. It promotes growth and repair of the bowel lining, increases its absorptive surface, and influences intestinal blood flow, movement and acid secretion.
teduglutide preparations and strengths
Injection
Route: Parenteral
Strengths: 1.25 mg, 5 mg
How to take teduglutide
Use only after practical training from the specialist or homecare team. Reconstitute the powder with the supplied solvent before injecting it under the skin.
Do not shake the vial; gently roll and invert it as instructed.
Use only a clear, colourless solution without visible particles.
Inject into a cleaned area of the abdomen, or the thigh if abdominal injection is unsuitable, and rotate sites.
Do not inject into a vein or muscle.
Use once after preparation and put needles and syringes in a sharps container.
teduglutide side effects
Common or expected effects
- Abdominal pain or swelling
- Nausea or vomiting
- Headache
- Respiratory infections or flu-like symptoms
- Injection-site pain, redness, swelling or bruising
- Stoma complications, including protrusion
- Reduced appetite, ankle swelling or fluid retention
Get urgent medical advice
- Symptoms of bowel obstruction, including severe abdominal pain, vomiting, swelling or reduced stoma output
- Severe persistent abdominal pain suggesting pancreatitis
- Sudden breathlessness, facial or ankle swelling, or rapid weight gain suggesting fluid overload or worsening heart failure
- Severe allergic reaction
- Severe upper abdominal pain, fever or jaundice suggesting gallbladder or bile-duct disease
teduglutide in pregnancy
Human pregnancy data are unavailable, so product information advises avoiding teduglutide as a precaution. Contact the specialist prescriber promptly if pregnant, planning pregnancy or becoming pregnant during treatment.
teduglutide while breastfeeding
It is unknown whether teduglutide enters human milk, and risk to a breastfed child cannot be excluded. Product information advises avoiding it while breastfeeding; discuss options with the specialist team.
teduglutide interactions
Teduglutide can increase intestinal absorption, so oral medicines may have stronger or altered effects.
Oral medicines requiring careful titration or with a narrow therapeutic index
Monitor clinical response or blood concentrations closely, as increased absorption may require treatment adjustment.
Common questions about teduglutide
Answers are fully visible for fast scanning and source review.
Can teduglutide reduce the need for parenteral nutrition?
It may reduce parenteral nutrition or intravenous fluid requirements, but response varies and changes must be directed by the specialist team.
Why are colonoscopies needed?
Teduglutide stimulates intestinal tissue growth, so screening and surveillance are used to detect polyps and check for gastrointestinal neoplasia.
Sources
These sources were used to prepare and review this medicine page.
Prepared and reviewed by the iatroX editorial team.