Doping Children
Home Up Codeine Darvon Demerol DepoDur Dilaudid Fentanyl Heroin Methadone Morphine Nalbuphine Oxycontin Oxymorphone Talwin Suboxone Stadol Tramadol Vicodin Doping Children For Surgery For Cancer For Other Pain Regulation Pro-Narcotics Ibogaine Patient Survey JCAHO

 
Real Studies

It is very common for doctors and dentists to dope up children with extremely addictive narcotics on a routine basis for all sorts of conditions without one single study ever being done in the history of the world showing that these narcotics are better than non-addictive pain treatments of children.  It is a shocking scandal that has me as a parent extremely frightened.  Don't Trust Doctors.  Research on tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana shows that the earlier in life a person starts an addictive drug, the more strongly that he is likely to become addicted and have a harder time getting off of it and staying off of it.  There is even one study showing that the children of mothers receiving narcotics during delivery are more likely to become heroin addicts later in life.

I simply didn't realize how widespread the doping up of children in America's hospitals has become.  Drugs as addictive as heroin are being given to children routinely for up to two weeks in some hospitals after surgery.  Drugs are being given to burn victims without any research that they are even as good as standard pain medications like ibuprofen and acetaminophen.

This is extremely irresponsible medicine.  This practice must be stopped.  Based on almost 200 studies with children and adults, it can be said with a high degree of confidence that narcotics are not as good as non-addictive treatments for pain.  Any minor little add-on benefit they might give is not worth priming your child to become a life-long junky.  I can assure you, opiate addiction in America is spreading like wild fire.  In high school and college, your child will be repeatedly offered opiates.  If your child has been primed by previous treatment and makes one mistake, the chance of slipping into the life of a junky is significantly greater.  I am worried.  I hope you are, too.

Canada: Doping Up Children with Appendicitis with Morphine: In a DB PC study of 108 children in the emergency room with acute abdominal pain thought to possibly require emergency surgery (appendectomy), children given IV morphine had somewhat less pain than those given an IV with no pain reliever whatsoever. The reduction in the mean pain score was significantly greater in the morphine group (2.2 vs 1.2 cm). Early analgesia for children with acute abdominal pain. Green R, et al. Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. Pediatrics. 2005 Oct;116(4):978-83. Ed: At very least, these doctors should have used a non-narcotic pain reliever as a control.  Non-narcotics have been found as good or better than opiates for surgical pain in many studies.

Finland Doping Up Children with Oxycontin for Simple Acute Abdominal Pain in Bogus Study: In an irresponsible DB PC study, 63 children with abdominal pain fo less than 7 days were given either oxycontin or placebo.  While the oxycontin did help pain relief some (22 vs. 9), there was no non-narcotic pain-reliever for an active control.  Since oxycontin is usually no better and often worse than non-narcotics, to prime children with narcotics at a tender age in grossly irresponsible. Less than half of the children had laparotomies and, of these, 23 had appendicitis.  Oxycodone vs placebo in children with undifferentiated abdominal pain: a randomized, double-blind clinical trial of the effect of analgesia on diagnostic accuracy. Kokki H, et al. Kuopio University Hospital, Finland. . Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005 Apr;159(4):320-5.

Milwaukee: Doping up Children on OxyContin After Spinal Surgery:  Despite the fact that there has never been a single controlled study in the history of the world on using potent narcotics on children, and despite the fact that potent narcotics are clearly inferior to a number of non-narcotic pain relievers for acute pain, the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin routinely gives children two weeks of highly addictive narcotics after back surgery. In a retrospective chart review of 62 postoperative spinal fusion patients  ages 10-19 years, the mean initial oxycodone-CR dose was 1.24 mg/kg/day. Oxycodone-CR was used for an average of 13.3 days, which included an average wean time of 6 days. The authors falsely claim, "Results of this study demonstrate safe and effective use of oxycodone-CR in the pediatric spinal fusion population." Controlled-release oxycodone for the management of pediatric postoperative pain. Controlled-release oxycodone for the management of pediatric postoperative pain. Czarnecki ML, et al. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2004 Apr;27(4):379-86. Ed: It is incredible to me how physicians could make the above comment claiming that they have proven that OxyContin is safe and effective for children.  They have never done a controlled study, no double-blind, no comparison to non-narcotic pain relievers which have been repeatedly shown more effective in adults.  We know from tobacco and alcohol research that the developing nervous system becomes programmed for addiction much more easily.  This is very, very wrong.  As a parent, I am very frightened that doctors will abuse my children when I am not around by drugging them up.  I simply did not realize that the doping of America was so intense and wide-spread.  These are children!

Seattle: Children Burn Vitctims Given Extremely Addictive Narcotics Without Any Evidence That It is Necessary: In a DB study without a placebo or non-narcotic active control, 22 out-patient burn victim children ages 5-14 were given either oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate (10 microg/kg) and oral oxycodone (0.2 mg/kg). There was no difference in outcome measures. The authors conclude that fentanyl has the advantage of tasting better! A comparison of oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate and oral oxycodone for pediatric outpatient wound care. Sharar SR, et al. Department of Anesthesiology, University of Washington School of Medicine and Harborview Medical Center, Seattle. J Burn Care Rehabil. 2002 Jan-Feb;23(1):27-31. Ed: These children were out-patients.  The authors suggest that they don't have the time or staff for something better, and yet non-narcotics are almost certain to work about as fast with greater pain relief. 

Turkey: Giving Equivalent of IV Heroin to Children for Tonsillectomy When Acetaminophen Will Do: In a DB study comparing patient-controlled IV tramadol with patient-controlled IV morphine, both narcotics similar to heroin, for postoperative pain after tonsillectomy in 60 children, a standardized loading dose (0.1 mg/kg in group M, or 1 mg/kg in group T) was given followed by children helping themselves to bolus doses (morphine (0.02 mg/kg or tramadol (0.2 mg/kg) with lockout times of 10 min without time limit via a PCA device found lower pain with morphine than tramadol at 1, 2 and 4 h (P < 0.05). Sedation increased with time in both groups (P < 0.05). Nausea was higher with morphine (P < 0.05). Comparison of morphine and tramadol by patient-controlled analgesia for postoperative analgesia after tonsillectomy in children. Ozalevli M, Unlugenic H, Tuncer U, Gunes Y, Ozcengiz D. Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey. Paediatr Anaesth. 2005 Nov;15(11):979-84.