Saturday, August 23, 2008

MD wants codeine banned at hospital

From the Globe and Mail:
Canada's obstetricians say a study showing how a popular pain reliever can turn a mother's milk into a toxic brew for newborns has raised warning bells, with one doctor asking the country's busiest maternity hospital to yank the product off its shelves.

"My suggestion is that all obstetric units across this country remove T3s [Tylenol 3] from their obstetric formulary," said perinatologist Peter von Dadelszen, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of British Columbia.

"... I've actually contacted the hospital leadership [at BC Women's Hospital] asking that it be yanked completely so we no longer have it available."

Also yesterday, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada said it will meet next week with the Canadian Pediatric Society to discuss the best and safest pain relief for nursing mothers - with an eye to having a guideline on the subject by 2009, said its executive vice-president, André Lalonde.

"We don't want to panic people here. There's kind of a warning bell going out there, but we need a lot more studies to see it," Dr. Lalonde said in an interview from Ottawa. "The general advice is to take the smallest dose possible." ...more

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