Research suggests codeine-based painkillers still killing children
Posted Apr 9, 2012 04:15:58 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Years after Canadian researchers warned about the dangers of using codeine-based painkillers after surgery, a new study suggests the practice is still killing children.
The report, published in the journal Pediatrics, details the deaths and near-death of three children who were given codeine-based painkillers shortly after ear, neck and throat surgery.
Although only three cases were examined in the study, the lead researcher says there are many more cases across the country.
Doctor Gideon Koren, from Sick Kids’ Hospital, told The Globe and Mail the practice of giving children codeine-based painkillers is completely unsafe.
All three of the children in the study showed a genetic tendency to absorb codeine quickly, but researchers say all children are at risk.
Codeine makes people breathe more shallowly, which can be dangerous for children with asthma, sleep apnea or other conditions.
The drug is often prescribed because of its powerful painkilling properties and the fact that it doesn’t increase bleeding like some alternatives.
