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Infant Deaths Linked To Cold-Medicine Use

At least three babies have died after being given over-the-counter cough and cold medicines, and more than 1,500 children needed treatment in hospital emergency rooms during 2004 and 2005, federal health officials said in warning parents against using the products in very young children.

All three infants had high levels of pseudoephedrine, a nasal decongestant, in their blood. Two also had detectable levels of dextromethorphan, a cough suppressant, and acetaminophen, a fever reliever, in their bodies, according to a report in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The report said no safe dosage of the cough and cold medications has been established for babies, nor is there any evidence that they work in children younger than 2. The report did not speculate on how the medications caused the deaths, but said blood levels of pseudoephedrine in the babies who died were nine to 14 times as high as in children ages 2 to 12 who receive the recommended doses.

Parents were cautioned against using the medications without consulting a doctor, and they were urged to follow the doctor's recommendations precisely.

-- From News Services

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