FDA Steps Up Review of Opioids in Children’s Cough and Cold Medicine

The FDA will convene a public meeting of its Pediatric Advisory Committee to discuss the use of opioid cough medicines in treating children, part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to address this issue, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Aug. 21.

“There are few more common decisions that parents and providers are asked to make than the question of how to appropriately treat a child’s cough and cold symptoms,” Gottlieb said. “Sometimes symptoms can be severe enough that prescription medication is needed, but some of these medications pose their own risks – especially for younger children – because they may contain opioids.”

The committee will meet Sept. 11-12 in Rockville, Maryland. It will look at the use of cough medications containing codeine or hydrocodeine that are prescribed for children.