Cough and cold medication use in young children has been linked to a significant number of adverse effects and several deaths, leading the FDA to recommend against their use for children less than two years old. Despite these concerns about safety and efficacy, there has been little research on patterns of cough and cold medication use in very young children. Now, a new study from the Emergency Medicine Network (www.emnet-usa.org) led by Katherine O’Donnell, M.D. of Children’s Hospital Boston reveals important new statistics about medication use in children under the age of two.
According to the study, 1-in-3 children under the age of two with bronchiolitis (a lower respiratory tract infection associated with runny nose, cough, wheezing and/or difficulty breathing) had received over-the-counter cough and cold medicines in the week prior to visiting an emergency department.
This study identifies rates and predictors of cough and cold medication use prior to the manufacturer recall of and FDA recommendations against use of these medications in children younger than two years of age.
“After the recall and labeling changes, it will be important to monitor for potential ongoing use of these medicines in young children and observe if parents or physicians are turning to other therapies in place of these medications,” says O’Donnell.
Given these findings and the fact that non-concentrated cough and cold formulations remain available for over-the-counter use, the authors encourage physicians to counsel all parents of young children about these ineffective and potentially dangerous medications.
While the study did not identify a specific high-risk demographic group for targeted educational interventions, factors including daycare attendance, second-hand smoke exposure, recent antibiotic use and presence of wheezing were associated with increased use of cough and cold medications. Children less than a year old, as well as those with a history of hospitalization, were less likely to use these medications.
The presentation is entitled “Use of Cough and Cold Medications in Children Age <2 Years Presenting to the Emergency Department with Bronchiolitis.” This paper will be presented at the 2008 SAEM Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. on Saturday, May 31st , in the poster session beginning at 12:00 noon in Exhibit Hall A of the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. Abstracts are published in Vol. 15, No. 5, Supplement 1, May 2008 of Academic Emergency Medicine, the official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.
Press Room – 2008 SAEM Annual Meeting, May 29-June 1, 2008,Washington, D.C.
Location Park Tower Suite #8229
Chicago, IL
Tel: (202) 328-2000 (ask for the SAEM Registration Desk)
Fax: (202) 234-0015 (mark for attn of Maryanne Greketis or Sandra Rummel)
Contact Sean Wagner (swagner@wiley.com) to arrange for an interview prior to or during the SAEM Annual Meeting. Dr. O’Donnell can be reached through the Department of Public Affairs at Children’s Hospital Boston. Please contact Jamie Newton at 617-919-3112 or Public.affairs@childrens.harvard.edu.
About The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (www.saem.org)
The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) is a national non-profit organization of over 6,000 academic emergency physicians, emergency medicine residents and medical students. SAEM's mission is to improve patient care by advancing research and education in emergency medicine. SAEM's vision is to promote ready access to quality emergency care for all patients, to advance emergency medicine as an academic and clinical discipline, and to maintain the highest professional standards as clinicians, teachers, and researchers. The SAEM Annual Meeting attracts approximately 2,000 medical students, residents and academic emergency physicians. It provides the largest forum for the presentation of original research in the specialty of Emergency Medicine.
About Academic Emergency Medicine (www.aemj.org)
AEM is a peer-reviewed journal whose goal is to advance the science, education, and clinical practice of emergency medicine, to serve as a voice for the academic emergency medicine community, and to enhance the goals and objectives of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM). Members and non-members worldwide depend on this journal for translational medicine relevant to emergency medicine, in addition to clinical news, case studies and more.
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