| Connect to share and comment |
Amy SilversteinAugust 15, 2012 15:33
Codeine risk linked to three children's deaths
Three kids have died after receiving codeine, a common painkiller.
Three kids have died after receiving codeine, a common painkiller.
Enlarge
A new painkiller has drug abuse experts concerned it could be the next OxyContin. (Mario Tama/AFP/Getty Images)
At least three kids have died after doctors gave them a normal dose of codeine after surgery, the US Food and Drug Administration announced today. Codeine is a common painkiller that normally turns into morphine in the body, Reuters reported. But as many as 7 percent of kids may be "ultra-metabolizers" of the drug, causing a fatal overdose even at normal amounts.
In a press release, the US FDA says it is studying adverse affects reports to see if yet more codeine-related deaths have occurred over the years.
More from GlobalPost: When the BRICs crumble
"When prescribing codeine-containing drugs, health care providers should use the lowest effective dose for the shortest time on an as-needed basis," the release says. Certain ethnic groups may be more likely to be fast metabolizers of codeine. Genetic tests can identify the ultra-rapid metabolizers, but most pediatricians don't bother ordering them, the Boston Globe reported.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/health/120815/codeine-risk-linked-three-childrens-deaths
.
-
Photo
Jaume Plensa's "Tel Aviv Man" at Art Basel, the world’s premier trade fair for leading galleries and collectors focused on modern and contemporary art.
- [/] -
Photo
The front of the Art Basel building. This year’s show attracted 303 of the world’s top galleries from 36 countries, showing the works of more than 2,500 artists. It drew more than 62,000 visitors, a new record.
- [/] -
Photo
Platform Gallery's Chen Wei and one of his "Recovery Room" series at Liste Young Artist's show. By the time the week was over he had sold more than 10 works, with prices ranging from $1,800 to nearly $3,000.
- [/] -
Photo
A performance spectator admires some of the pieces at Basel Art.
- [/] -
Photo
A performance piece at Basel Scope, done by an unidentified nearly naked man who moved in slow motion up and down the aisles dressed like a Greek version of Mars, the god of war.
- [/] -
Photo
A performance piece at Scope. The man clutched a staff, on which a plastic container for motor oil with the BP logo was impaled.
- [/] -
Photo
An installation piece at Basel Art.
- [/] -
Photo
An installation piece with paper tubes at Basel Art.
- [/] -
Photo
A gallery scene at the Scope Basel show.
- [/] -
Photo
A sculpture of Sperone Westwater Gallery's employee, Michael Short, by Evan Penny.
- [/] -
Photo
Evan Penny's sculpture of Michael Short.
- [/] -
Photo
A woman views Jaume Plensa's "Tel Aviv Man," (Study) 2010, Galerie Lelong, Paris.
- [/] -
Photo
"Medusa marinara," 1997 — a photographic representation of the Medusa in spaghetti and tomato sauce by New York-based Brazilian artist, Vic Muniz.
- [/] -
Photo
Children play around Ai Weiwei's piece, "Field," 2010.
- [/] -
Photo
Heimo Sobernig's "Black Cube" sits on display outside outside.
- [/] -
Photo
A piece by Yayoi Kusama titled "Pumkin."
- [/]
Follow us: