AMRI provides you with all of the tools to successfully complete your PALS recertification. Our course is fast and flexible. Renew your PALS Certification today!
Once viewed as a preferred pain-relief alternative to codeine, morphine is now believed to have life-threatening side effects for children who undergo a tonsillectomy to treat sleep apnea. The new finding is the result of a study conducted by The Hospital for Sick Children, McMaster Children’s Hospital and McMaster University. All three are located in Canada
According to the study, morphine poses the same dangerous respiratory risks that caused the FDA to issue warnings about using codeine to relieve pain in children. Following the FDA’s warning, morphine became the new pain relief treatment standard for tonsillectomies. However, in a study of 91 children between the ages of 1 and 10 who underwent a tonsillectomy, researchers found that those who were given morphine “had significantly more post-op incidents of oxygen desaturation and faced a higher risk of fatal respiratory problems than those who received ibuprofen.”
Researchers say they are encouraged by the study’s positive findings on the safety of using ibuprofen for children with sleep apnea. Gideon Koren, MD, FRCPC, the study’s author and a pediatrician and pharmacologist at the Hospital for Sick Children, told Outpatient Surgery Magazine, “The evidence here clearly suggests children with obstructive sleep apnea should not be given morphine for post-operative pain. We already know that they should not get codeine either. The good news is that we now have evidence that indicates ibuprofen is safe for these kids, and is just as effective in controlling their pain, so there's a good alternative available for clinicians to prescribe.”
To learn more about the study, read the full article.
