Mac doctor warns of morphine danger to kids

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Doctors could be putting kids in danger with too much morphine. That’s the message of a newly published study out of McMaster Children’s Hospital and McMaster University.

Researchers followed children who had their tonsils removed to treat sleep apnea. Half were given Tylenol and Advil to take at home and the other half were given morphine in addition to the other painkillers.

Head & neck surgeon Dr Doron Sommer says patients who took morphine got worse immediately after surgery and had reduced oxygen levels in their blood.

“There was one child who did suffer a very severe desaturation event which led to her being almost unresponsive and turning blue. She was resuscitated completely and is back to normal but it’s one of these things that we consider a near-miss.”

The study suggests reducing the amount of morphine prescribed after a tonsillectomy.