Meperidine

Risks & contraindications

Background

Highlighted claims

• The 2023 American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria issued a strong recommendation to avoid meperidine in older adults. — Patterns in meperidine distribution and associations with income and obesity in the USA and Puerto Rico between 2019 and 2023: a retrospective study
• The DEA classified meperidine as a Schedule II controlled substance in 1970, a classification that remains in effect. — Patterns in meperidine distribution and associations with income and obesity in the USA and Puerto Rico between 2019 and 2023: a retrospective study
• The WHO removed meperidine from its List of Essential Medicines in 2003. — Patterns in meperidine distribution and associations with income and obesity in the USA and Puerto Rico between 2019 and 2023: a retrospective study
• Meperidine carries a risk of serotonin syndrome when co-administered with MAOIs or SNRIs. — Patterns in meperidine distribution and associations with income and obesity in the USA and Puerto Rico between 2019 and 2023: a retrospective study
• Meperidine produces a neurotoxic metabolite, normeperidine, which accumulates at elevated concentrations. — Patterns in meperidine distribution and associations with income and obesity in the USA and Puerto Rico between 2019 and 2023: a retrospective study
• Meperidine was once the most widely used opioid in the United States, initially regarded as safer than morphine based on mid-20th century research. — Patterns in meperidine distribution and associations with income and obesity in the USA and Puerto Rico between 2019 and 2023: a retrospective study
• The death of Libby Zion from a meperidine-phenelzine interaction became a landmark case that triggered national reforms in medical education. — Patterns in meperidine distribution and associations with income and obesity in the USA and Puerto Rico between 2019 and 2023: a retrospective study