NumburrOne
Member
- Dec 31, 2013
- 116
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I'm new here and I'm here to provide some information that is noteworthy I believe.
This young lady died on the table after bleeding out and having a coronary attack.
Most don't realize, the drugs they use to comfort the children kills a small percentage...
These drugs have been known and studied for years...
But they still exist WITHOUT SIDE EFFECT RECOGNIZED because they don't cross a 5 percent threshold set by the FDA...
Although many otolaryngologists and other physicians have already changed their practice to omit the use of codeine and other narcotics, their use remains widespread in the post-operative pain management of children, according to Anna Messner, MD, professor and vice chair in the department of pediatric otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, Calif. Codeine has been used for a long time, so it is hard to change established practice, she said.
Time for a Change?
For many years, acetaminophen combined with codeine has been used to treat post-operative pain in children undergoing tonsillectomy or other otolaryngologic procedures. For many children, this is a safe and effective treatment.
The safety of codeine use in some children has been questioned over the past few years, however, with an increasing number of case reports describing children who have died after receiving codeine for post-operative pain, particularly after tonsillectomy (Pain Med. 2012;13(7):982-983). The latest report, published in 2012, documented the cases of three children who died after receiving standard treatment with codeine-acetaminophen after tonsillectomy between 2010 and 2011 (Pediatrics. 2012;129(5):e1343-1347).
FDA Warns of Codeine Death Risk
On August 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning of a potentially fatal risk associated with codeine use in children following tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. For more information, visit fda.gov and click on News & Events.
Although the number of documented cases of codeine-related deaths remains small, a recently published study that looked at the complications and legal outcomes of tonsillectomy malpractice claims found that the incidence of codeine-related deaths was much higher than the researchers expected (Laryngoscope. 2012;122(1):71-74).
Using data from the LexisNexis Mega Jury Verdicts and Settlements database from 1984 through 2010 for complications resulting from tonsillectomy, the researchers found that 18 percent of death claims and 5 percent of injury claims resulted from the use of opioids, largely codeine. This database showed that opioids are the second most common cause of death in patients who undergo tonsillectomy after post-tonsillectomy bleeding, said Senthilkumar Sadhasivam, MD, MPH, assistant professor of clinical anesthesia and pediatrics and director of peri-operative pain service in the division of pediatrics at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center in Ohio, who was involved with the study.
This drug was shown to have bleed complication in 2004 during clinical trials...
The time is now to make a change...
Thanks to all and have a great blogging day...
NumBurrOne
This young lady died on the table after bleeding out and having a coronary attack.
Most don't realize, the drugs they use to comfort the children kills a small percentage...
These drugs have been known and studied for years...
But they still exist WITHOUT SIDE EFFECT RECOGNIZED because they don't cross a 5 percent threshold set by the FDA...
Although many otolaryngologists and other physicians have already changed their practice to omit the use of codeine and other narcotics, their use remains widespread in the post-operative pain management of children, according to Anna Messner, MD, professor and vice chair in the department of pediatric otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, Calif. Codeine has been used for a long time, so it is hard to change established practice, she said.
Time for a Change?
For many years, acetaminophen combined with codeine has been used to treat post-operative pain in children undergoing tonsillectomy or other otolaryngologic procedures. For many children, this is a safe and effective treatment.
The safety of codeine use in some children has been questioned over the past few years, however, with an increasing number of case reports describing children who have died after receiving codeine for post-operative pain, particularly after tonsillectomy (Pain Med. 2012;13(7):982-983). The latest report, published in 2012, documented the cases of three children who died after receiving standard treatment with codeine-acetaminophen after tonsillectomy between 2010 and 2011 (Pediatrics. 2012;129(5):e1343-1347).
FDA Warns of Codeine Death Risk
On August 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning of a potentially fatal risk associated with codeine use in children following tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. For more information, visit fda.gov and click on News & Events.
Although the number of documented cases of codeine-related deaths remains small, a recently published study that looked at the complications and legal outcomes of tonsillectomy malpractice claims found that the incidence of codeine-related deaths was much higher than the researchers expected (Laryngoscope. 2012;122(1):71-74).
Using data from the LexisNexis Mega Jury Verdicts and Settlements database from 1984 through 2010 for complications resulting from tonsillectomy, the researchers found that 18 percent of death claims and 5 percent of injury claims resulted from the use of opioids, largely codeine. This database showed that opioids are the second most common cause of death in patients who undergo tonsillectomy after post-tonsillectomy bleeding, said Senthilkumar Sadhasivam, MD, MPH, assistant professor of clinical anesthesia and pediatrics and director of peri-operative pain service in the division of pediatrics at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center in Ohio, who was involved with the study.
This drug was shown to have bleed complication in 2004 during clinical trials...
The time is now to make a change...
Thanks to all and have a great blogging day...
NumBurrOne
