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Respiratory sensitivity of the newborn infant to meperidine and morphine
Author(s) -
Way W. L.,
Costley E. C.,
Leong Way E.
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.941
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1532-6535
pISSN - 0009-9236
DOI - 10.1002/cpt196564454
Subject(s) - morphine , medicine , anesthesia , respiratory system , sensitivity (control systems) , electronic engineering , engineering
An infant body plethysmograph and end‐tidal CO 2 , sampling were used to study respiratory CO 2 , response curves in newborn male infants. CO 2 , response curves were obtained before and after the administration of meperidine or morphine. In infants given one third the dose of each compound established to yield equivalent respiratory depression in the adult, morphine shifted the CO 2 , response curve to the right and downward to a greater extent than meperidine. The greater susceptibility to morphine in the infant as compared to the adult is believed to be due primarily to a greater permeability of the infant brain to morphine.