Codeine – The Checkup

Provider Alert! Codeine and Tramadol should NOT be prescribed for children

On April 20, 2017 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement that CODEINE is CONTRAINDICATED for treatment of pain or cough for children under 12 years. The also WARN against its use in adolescents 12-18 years old, especially those with obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, or severe lung disease. The FDA considers TRAMADOL to be CONTRAINDICATED for children younger than 18 to treat pain from tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy. Note that Tramadol is not FDA approved for use in...

AAP Strongly Advises Against Codeine for Children

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recently released a Clinical Report strongly advising against codeine use in children. The rationale of the AAP is as follows: “Codeine is a prodrug with little inherent pharmacologic activity and must be metabolized in the liver into morphine, which is responsible for codeine’s analgesic effects. However, there is substantial genetic variability in the activity of the responsible hepatic enzyme, CYP2D6, and, as a consequence, individual patient response to codeine varies from no effect to...

Tag - Codeine