title: [New insights into the role of pholcodine in the treatment of cough in 2013?].
abstract: Pholcodine is an opioid that has been widely used worldwide since 1950 for the treatment of non-productive cough in children and adults. The results of early preclinical studies but also those of recent clinical trials have shown the antitussive efficacy of pholcodine to be superior to that of codeine, of longer duration, and with an equivalent or safer toxicity profile. Also, there is no risk of addiction. Concern had been raised over a possible cross-sensitisation with neuromuscular blocking agents. While a recent assessment of the available data by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has confirmed the favourable risk-benefit ratio of pholcodine, further studies are needed to clear this point.
authors.affiliation: Service des Maladies Respiratoires, Hôpital Haut Lévêque, Pessac, France. elodieblfr@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: Elodie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Blanchard
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tunon de Lara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000996:Antitussive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D003061:Codeine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use / Q000633:toxicity; D003371:Cough / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004342:Drug Hypersensitivity; D004347:Drug Interactions; D006801:Humans; D009025:Morpholines / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use* / Q000633:toxicity; D009466:Neuromuscular Blocking Agents / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D000996:Antitussive Agents; D009025:Morpholines; D009466:Neuromuscular Blocking Agents; C008872:pholcodine; D003061:Codeine