Pain Management in Children: Part 2 — A Transition from Codeine to Morphine for Moderate to Severe Pain in Children

Abstract

Opioids remain the agent of choice for the treatment of moderate to severe pain in both adults and children. Codeine, an opioid analogue, is commonly used in the treatment of mild to moderate pain in both adults and children. However, there has been growing concern about the safety of codeine use in children. This second part of the article on pain management in children will focus on codeine's questionable efficacy and safety concerns about the use of codeine in children.