Case Report: Alpha‐Gal Diagnosis in an Adolescent With Cystic Fibrosis

A 17-year-old female with cystic fibrosis was diagnosed with alpha-gal syndrome after 6 months of progressively worsening abdominal pain. Alpha-gal is an acquired allergy to mammalian products that can impact what individuals are able to consume. This syndrome may impact an individual's ability to take medications that are animal derived or contain animal derived excipients. Through dietary removal of mammalian products, she was able to see a reduction in gastrointestinal symptoms. With the success of dietary modifications and modification of her allergy medication formulation, maintenance medication changes did not need to be made. This allowed her to continue her pre-established medication treatment plan (including exogenous pancreatic enzymes). This case highlights potential complexities in medication management of alpha-gal syndrome in an adolescent with cystic fibrosis.