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. 2010 Dec;56(12):1293-4.

Codeine for acute cough in children

[Article in English, French]
Ran D Goldman  1
Affiliations

Codeine for acute cough in children

[Article in English, French]
Ran D Goldman. Can Fam Physician. 2010 Dec.

Abstract
in English, French

Question: Owing to Health Canada's recent recommendations to avoid the use of over-the-counter cough and cold medications in preschool children, I was looking at other antitussive medications for acute cough. Codeine was recommended in the past for this indication. What is the evidence for its use and how effective and safe is it?

Answer: Cough is one of the most common symptoms in children, and the opioid codeine has known antitussive qualities mediated by a central nervous system pathway. However, current evidence finds codeine to be no more effective than placebo for acute cough in children. Its safety profile and recent advances in understanding codeine's variable effectiveness prohibit recommending codeine for cough in children.

QUESTION À la suite des récentes recommandations de Santé Canada d’éviter les médicaments en vente libre contre la toux et le rhume pour les enfants d’âge préscolaire, je cherche d’autres médicaments antitussifs pour la toux aiguë. On recommandait la codéine par le passé pour cet usage. Quelles sont les données scientifiques entourant son utilisation et dans quelle mesure est-elle sécuritaire?

RÉPONSE La toux est l’un des symptômes les plus fréquents chez les enfants et la codéine est reconnue pour ses propriétés antitussives médiées par une voie du système nerveux central. Par ailleurs, selon les données scientifiques actuelles, la codéine n’est pas plus efficace qu’un placebo pour la toux aiguë chez les enfants. Son profil d’innocuité et les récents progrès dans la compréhension de l’efficacité variable de la codéine empêchent de recommander la codéine pour la toux chez les enfants.

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