Two teens died after being prescribed pain-relief patch: Health Canada

“Two teenagers died after being prescribed a pain-relief patch designed for adults being treated for chronic pain, says a Health Canada report . . .

The girl was prescribed Duragesic for chronic headache and was ‘discovered unresponsive and with respiratory depression’ 21 hours after the patch was first applied, the newsletter says . . .

The boy, who was prescribed the drug for throat pain due to mononucleosis, was found in respiratory arrest 14 hours after the patch was first applied. Resuscitation efforts failed, the newsletter says . . .”

The Duragesic patch contains a potent narcotic, Fentanyl. I’m not sure what the doctors were thinking, but there should be no circumstances where this should be prescribed to teenagers for headache or sore throat.