Demerol Use in Children

Identification

• Demerol is a narcotic pain reliever that is used as a sedative and analgesic for pediatric patients, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Many children receive Demerol in combination with the drugs Phenergan and Thorazine. This cocktail of drugs is also called DPT.

Uses

• DPT is sometimes used in children for sedation before they are given general anesthesia for a surgical procedure. The AAP says that DPT is primarily used for children who have to have radiology procedures. DPT is also used for invasive procedures, such as bone marrow aspirations, suturing, cardiac catheterization and renal biopsy. In 1990, DPT was the most common sedation used for suturing in pediatric emergency wards, the AAP claims.

Effects

• Demerol has about ten percent of the potency of morphine. In addition, the AAP says that about five percent of the population isn't affected by Demerol in the same way.

Considerations

• The AAP recommends that doctors save the use of Demerol, particularly as DPT, for painful procedures, and not just for typical sedation. Also, the DPT combination has the potential to leave children sedated for a long period of time, up to 19 hours in some cases, and it's generally not advisable that children be sedated for much longer than the procedure itself. So, for shorter procedures, it's often advised to seek other medications.

  The AAP says that alternatives exist for doctors and parents concerned about the possible negative effects of Demerol and DPT.

Warning

• The AAP says that Demerol could have negative effects on children. These effects include dizziness, nausea and/or vomiting. Patients who receive large amounts of Demerol, and have renal functional impairment, could also experience seizures after taking Demerol.

  Though Demerol and DPT are sometimes effective for procedures with children, the drugs do seem to lack many of the desired characteristics for sedating children.