India's Drugs Controller General has issued an advisory cautioning doctors, medical professionals, and patients against the use of cough syrups and cold medications containing pholcodine. This move comes in response to an alert raised by the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the risks of anaphylactic reactions associated with pholcodine-containing products.
According to the WHO's advisory for healthcare professionals and regulatory authorities, individuals who have consumed cough and cold remedies containing pholcodine within the last 12 months and are scheduled for surgical procedures involving general anesthesia with neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) may be at risk of severe allergic reactions.
“The matter was referred to the Subject Expert Committee (Antimicrobial & Antiviral) to seek expert opinion on the safety alert published by WHO on Prior use of pholcodine containing cough syrups and cold remedies and risk of perioperative anaphylactic reactions to NMBAS for any regulatory interventions required on the matter,” said the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), Rajeev Raghuvanshi.
The DCGI asked doctors to suggest an alternative to patients for treating their symptoms. “To verify whether the patients scheduled to take general anesthetics (NMBAS) have taken pholcodine containing cough syrups in the previous 12 months and also be aware of anaphylactic reactions in such patients,” he said in the advisory.
Raghuvanshi recommended that consumers or patients should approach the use of pholcodine-containing cough and cold remedies with caution. “If you have taken Pholcodine-containing cough and cold remedies within the past 12 months and are scheduled for a procedure involving general anesthesia, it is essential to report this information to your healthcare professional prior to the procedure,” he said.
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