Calls to poison power owed to overdoses of the cough suppressant benzonatate (sold nether the marque sanction Tessalon) person been rising successful caller years arsenic prescriptions for the cause person increased, according to a caller survey from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The fig of overdoses is climbing successful children nether 5, who accidentally ingest the drug, and successful kids 10 years and older who misuse the cough suppressant connected purpose; the findings were published successful the December 2022 contented of Pediatrics, published online November 15.
“The astir important uncovering successful our survey is that cause information considerations widen beyond the harmless and due usage of medicine medication,” says the pb author, Ivone Kim, MD, a elder doc astatine the FDA. “Accessibility to benzonatate astatine location whitethorn contiguous a hazard for unintentional ingestion successful young children. In older children and adolescents, entree to benzonatate whitethorn pb to the misuse oregon maltreatment of these products, including the usage successful termination attempts,” says Dr. Kim.
Signs of benzonatate overdose whitethorn see restlessness, tremors, seizures, passing out, oregon bosom attack, and perchance death, according to the FDA.
Pediatric Prescriptions for Benzonatate Have Increased Significantly
Investigators utilized respective disposable databases to look astatine trends successful the usage of the cough suppressant. They recovered pediatric prescriptions for benzonatate accrued 62 percent from 2012 to 2019, an summation that whitethorn beryllium owed to efforts to trim inappropriate narcotic prescriptions.
Benzonatate inactive made up lone astir 10 percent of pediatric antitussive medicine prescriptions successful 2019, portion 90 percent were for dextromethorphan-containing medications.
Dextromethorphan, commonly referred to arsenic DXM, is simply a cough suppressant recovered successful much than 120 over-the-counter acold medications, and it's typically recovered successful extra-strength cough syrups, tablets and gel capsules, according to American Addiction Centers.
Since astatine slightest 2010, the FDA has warned that the accidental ingestion of benzonatate by kids nether 10 could origin death.
Reports of Children Ingesting the Cough Medicine Jumped 159 Percent Over 8 Years
Researchers recovered a full of 4,689 cases of benzonatate overdose oregon misuse, including 6 deaths, betwixt 2010 and 2018. Reports to U.S. poison power centers of children ingesting the cause jumped 159 percent during the eight-year period, from 308 cases successful 2010 to 799 successful 2018, the survey found.
The cases see precise young children unintentionally exposed to the cause arsenic good arsenic children property 10 and older who misused it intentionally.
About 77 percent of benzonatate exposures reported to poison power were unintentional. These exposures roseate from 256 successful 2010 to 581 successful 2018, and astir progressive children younger than 6 years, according to the study.
“The information suggests that entree to benzonatate presents a hazard for unintentional ingestion successful young children, arsenic oral exploration is simply a mean portion of improvement successful infants, and young children whitethorn beryllium enticed to devour objects that lucifer candy,” says Kim.
Cough Medicine Used successful Suicide Attempts successful Children and Teens
Intentional exposures roseate from 49 successful 2010 to 210 successful 2018, with conscionable implicit fractional of misuse oregon maltreatment cases and astir each suspected termination attempts occurring among children ages 10 to 16, according to the authors.
They noted that exposures and deaths reported successful the survey apt are an undercount, and they could not discern however benzonatate overdose severity compared with different cough medications.
Expert Tips connected Drug Safety
It is important for parents to sermon cause information for each prescribed medications with their aesculapian providers, says Kim. “Drug information includes knowing due dosing, administration, reasons for prescription, and learning astir imaginable broadside effects of the medication,” she says.
All medications should person the information headdress on, they should beryllium kept successful their archetypal packaging truthful there’s nary disorder astir what they are, and they should beryllium kept retired of scope of young children — particularly toddlers, says Joanna Cohen, MD, an subordinate prof of pediatrics astatine Johns Hopkins Medicine successful Baltimore.
Parents should beryllium alert of symptoms of benzonatate toxicity (such arsenic restlessness, tremors, convulsions, oregon coma) and question punctual aesculapian care, says Kim. “Parents and caretakers whitethorn besides privation to beryllium acquainted with however to decently dispose of unused medications astatine home,” she says.
For much accusation connected due cause disposal, sojourn the FDA's website.
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