Stick with the Chicken Soup: The Dangers of Cold and Cough Medications for Young Children

During 2004-2005, approximately 1,519 children aged two years old or younger were treated in emergency rooms across our country. The need for their parents to seek care for them may surprise you; it was not for illness but rather for the effort that their parents took to treat them for illness. The 1,519 children were treated for adverse events and even overdoses associated with cold and cough medications. Three infants during the same period of time died from the effects of cold and cough medicine overdosing.

The Food and Drug Administration has not approved dosing recommendations for children under the age of two. Cold and cough medication bottles state that a doctor should be consulted before giving any types of cold and cough medications to this age group. Unfortunately, parents often take the matter into their own hands and self determine what dose would be appropriate for their child and the results can be deadly. Often times, caregivers make the false presumption that adult and pediatric populations have the same pathophysiology.

Even for those families who do seek professional clinical assistance, caution should be yielded. The first note of caution in this circumstance is that often times for a variety of reasons; the clinician is not made aware of other medications (whether over-the-counter or prescription) that the child is already taking. The second note of caution is that once parents are given a prescription for a cold and cough medication for their child they do follow the medication administration instructions precisely.

The part of this that makes the story more tragic is that the systematic reviews of controlled studies have concluded that these medications are no more effective than the placebo in reducing cough and other symptoms of upper respiratory infection. In 1997, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy stating that parents should be educated on the lack of effects of these medications on this age group and the risk for adverse effects including overdose. In 2006, the American College of Chest Physicians released clinical practice guidelines for the management of cough. These guidelines set out to advise health care practitioners that they should refrain from recommending cough suppressants because of the associated morbidity and mortality.

Please contact our office regarding how we best can help you in a case that may involve adverse events and/or overdose. Some of our services include:

Medical Record Assessment and Case Analysis

• Identify, locate, review and interpret relevant medical records
• Organize, tab and paginate medical records for easy reference
• Prepare chronologies of the medical events involved in a case
• Summarize, translate and clarify medical records
• Identification and summation of applicable standards of care
• Determine adherences to and deviation from applicable standards of care
• Identify causation issues
• Assess damages and injuries
• Identify contributing factors
• Identify potential defendants
• Construct written reports for attorney-client use

Case Support

• Research medical and nursing literature for integration into case analysis
• Analyze the validity of research used by all parties
• Interview plaintiff and defense clients, key witnesses and experts
• Consult with healthcare providers regarding injuries, causation and damages

Coordination with Experts and Other Witnesses

• Identify types of experts needed for the case
• Locate needed experts
• Investigate potential expert witnesses, review their work product and publications
• Assist in preparation of witnesses and experts for deposition and trial

Discovery and Court Preparation Support

• Prepare questions for deposition or trial examination
• Prepare medical aspects of interrogatories and requests for production
• Review and draft responses to various legal documents
• Analysis and summation of deposition and past testimony
• Assist with demonstrative evidence preparation
• Assist in resolution of cases through alternative dispute resolution
  

Reference:
Center for Disease Control. Infant Deaths Associated with Cough and Cold Medication – Two States, 2005. MMWR 2007; 56(01);1-4. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov//mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5601a1.htm.

For more information on this issue please see Contact Us and see how our services can work for you.