• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Saturday, August 2, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Codeine too risky for kids

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
September 19, 2016
in Health
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

sleep

The American Academy of Pediatrics is urging parents and health providers to stop giving codeine to children, calling for more education about its risks and restrictions on its use in patients under age 18. A new AAP clinical report in the October 2016 issue of Pediatrics, “Codeine: Time to Say `No,'” cites continued use of the drug in pediatric settings despite growing evidence linking the common painkiller to life-threatening or fatal breathing reactions.

An opioid drug used for decades in prescription pain medicines and over-the-counter cough formulas, codeine is converted by the liver into morphine. Because of genetic variability in how quickly an individual’s body breaks down the drug, it provides inadequate relief for some patients while having too strong an effect on others. Certain individuals, especially children and those with obstructive sleep apnea, are “ultra-rapid metabolizers” and may experience severely slowed breathing rates or even die after taking standard doses of codeine.

Despite these well-documented risks and with concerns expressed by groups including the AAP, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the World Health Organization, the drug still is available without a prescription in over-the-counter cough formulas from outpatient pharmacies in 28 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, according to the AAP report, it still is commonly prescribed to children after surgical procedures such as tonsil and adenoid removal. More than 800,000 patients under age 11 were prescribed codeine between 2007 and 2011, according to one study cited in the AAP report. Otolaryngologists were the most frequent prescribers of codeine/acetaminophen liquid formulations (19.6 percent), followed by dentists (13.3 percent), pediatricians (12.7 percent) and general practice/family physicians (10.1 percent).

The new clinical report outlines potential alternatives to provide pain relief in children but acknowledges that relatively few safe and effective drugs are available for pediatric use.

“Effective pain management for children remains challenging,” said the report’s lead author, Joseph D. Tobias, MD, FAAP, “because children’s bodies process drugs differently than adults do.”

The AAP report, published online Sept. 19, calls for improved education of parents and health providers about the risks of codeine use in children and formal restrictions of its use in children, as well as further research on safe and effect pain treatment in children.

Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by American Academy of Pediatrics. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

J. D. Tobias, T. P. Green, C. J. Cote. Codeine: Time To Say “No”. PEDIATRICS, 2016; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2016-2396

The post Codeine too risky for kids appeared first on Scienmag.

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Predicting Lung Infections After Brain Hemorrhage

Predicting Lung Infections After Brain Hemorrhage

August 2, 2025
blank

Impact of Morphology and Location on Aneurysms

August 2, 2025

Unraveling EMT’s Role in Colorectal Cancer Spread

August 2, 2025

Gut γδ T17 Cells Drive Brain Inflammation via STING

August 2, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Blind to the Burn

    Overlooked Dangers: Debunking Common Myths About Skin Cancer Risk in the U.S.

    60 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • Dr. Miriam Merad Honored with French Knighthood for Groundbreaking Contributions to Science and Medicine

    46 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 12
  • Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    40 shares
    Share 16 Tweet 10
  • Study Reveals Beta-HPV Directly Causes Skin Cancer in Immunocompromised Individuals

    38 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 10

About

BIOENGINEER.ORG

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Predicting Lung Infections After Brain Hemorrhage

Impact of Morphology and Location on Aneurysms

Unraveling EMT’s Role in Colorectal Cancer Spread

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.