Dr. Ray said the very small number of overdoses and deaths suggests physicians may not need to be as cautious as they have been in
prescribing codeine as a painkiller for adults, or among new mothers from East Africa.
Although physicians often
prescribe codeine and codeine combined with acetaminophen for treating pain following childbirth, several studies have shown that ibuprofen is as effective in managing pain, and results in fewer side effects.
Fatal morphine poisoning in the breastfed neonate of a mother
prescribed codeine.»
As a result, many doctors are reluctant to
prescribe codeine to these women, but Dr. Ray said there are few other options for controlling their pain.
While the study also calculated the risk of dying after being
prescribed codeine, it was not possible to tell from the data whether codeine contributed to the death, or whether it was the underlying condition for which a painkiller had been prescribed.
There have been anecdotal reports of babies dying after being breastfed by mothers who were
prescribed codeine as a pain medication after delivery.
Not exact matches
The babies of mothers
prescribed morphine or
codeine are as «at risk» as babies born to mothers who are stable on methadone.
Even
codeine, an opiate medication commonly
prescribed to women following childbirth, has been fatal to newborns, when it has built up in the baby's system over several days.
«Despite strong evidence against the use of
codeine in children, the drug continues to be
prescribed to large numbers of them each year,» said Sunitha Kaiser, MD, UCSF assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco and lead author.
«It can be
prescribed in any clinical setting, so it is important to decrease
codeine prescription to children in other settings such as clinics and hospitals, in addition to emergency rooms.»
«
Codeine often
prescribed to children, despite available alternatives.»
A barbiturate used to treat headache in combination with caffeine, acetaminophen, aspirin and / or
codeine, it is routinely
prescribed for migraines in pregnancy.
Attendees were asked about nonmedical use — defined as using in a manner which is not
prescribed (such as to get high)-- of 18 different opioids — including OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin,
codeine, fentanyl, and heroin.
And the more serious painkillers, known as opioids (
codeine, morphine) often
prescribed postsurgery or for short - term relief of extreme pain, cause many more side effects such as nausea, constipation, depression, and itching in women than men.
Description:
Codeine is
prescribed to relieve mild to moderately severe pain.
Common narcotics
prescribed for pain include morphine and other opioid drugs such as
codeine and oxycodone (OxyContin).
It is also common to
prescribe more than one medication in addition to a Cox - 2 such as
Codeine, Tramadol or Gabapentin.