{"title":"Nonfatal pediatric fentanyl exposures reported to US poison centers, 2015-2023.","authors":"Joseph J Palamar, Linda B Cottler, Joshua C Black","doi":"10.1080/00952990.2025.2457481","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Background:</i> The opioid crisis, driven by fentanyl use, continues to worsen in the US and there has been a lack of focus on nonfatal overdose and how pediatric populations are being affected.<i>Objectives:</i> We determined the prevalence of nonfatal pediatric fentanyl exposures and associated characteristics and delineated how such characteristics are associated with major (life-threatening) outcomes.<i>Methods:</i> This repeated cross-sectional study examined characteristics of pediatric nonfatal fentanyl exposures (aged 0-19 years) reported to poison centers in 49 US states from 2015 through 2023.<i>Results:</i> 3,009 nonfatal pediatric exposures (41.5% female) were reported to poison centers-58.9% aged 13-19 and 41.1% aged 0-12. The number of exposures increased overall from 69 in 2015 to 893 in 2023 (a 1,194.2% increase, <i>p</i> < .001). Exposures increased by 924.3% among those aged 0-12 (<i>p</i> < .001) and by 1,506.3% among those aged 13-19 (<i>p</i> < .001). Ingestion-only use was the most prevalent route of administration by those aged 0-12 (76.9%) and 13-19 (54.1%). Prevalence of ingestion-only use increased from 44.1% of exposures in 2015 to 67.9% in 2023 (<i>p</i> < .001). The majority of patients aged 0-12 were exposed unintentionally (81.7%, vs. 1.0% among patients aged 13-19) while the majority of patients aged 13-19 misused or \"abused\" fentanyl (65.7% vs. 1.8%). The plurality of exposures (41.0%) resulted in a major (life-threatening) effect.<i>Conclusions:</i> Pediatric exposures to fentanyl are increasing and over one-third of cases are unintentional and/or had documented life-threatening effects. Prevention and harm reduction efforts need to include efforts for youth, particularly as counterfeit pills containing fentanyl flood the illicit market.</p>","PeriodicalId":48957,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2025.2457481","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: The opioid crisis, driven by fentanyl use, continues to worsen in the US and there has been a lack of focus on nonfatal overdose and how pediatric populations are being affected.Objectives: We determined the prevalence of nonfatal pediatric fentanyl exposures and associated characteristics and delineated how such characteristics are associated with major (life-threatening) outcomes.Methods: This repeated cross-sectional study examined characteristics of pediatric nonfatal fentanyl exposures (aged 0-19 years) reported to poison centers in 49 US states from 2015 through 2023.Results: 3,009 nonfatal pediatric exposures (41.5% female) were reported to poison centers-58.9% aged 13-19 and 41.1% aged 0-12. The number of exposures increased overall from 69 in 2015 to 893 in 2023 (a 1,194.2% increase, p < .001). Exposures increased by 924.3% among those aged 0-12 (p < .001) and by 1,506.3% among those aged 13-19 (p < .001). Ingestion-only use was the most prevalent route of administration by those aged 0-12 (76.9%) and 13-19 (54.1%). Prevalence of ingestion-only use increased from 44.1% of exposures in 2015 to 67.9% in 2023 (p < .001). The majority of patients aged 0-12 were exposed unintentionally (81.7%, vs. 1.0% among patients aged 13-19) while the majority of patients aged 13-19 misused or "abused" fentanyl (65.7% vs. 1.8%). The plurality of exposures (41.0%) resulted in a major (life-threatening) effect.Conclusions: Pediatric exposures to fentanyl are increasing and over one-third of cases are unintentional and/or had documented life-threatening effects. Prevention and harm reduction efforts need to include efforts for youth, particularly as counterfeit pills containing fentanyl flood the illicit market.
背景:由芬太尼使用驱动的阿片类药物危机在美国继续恶化,并且缺乏对非致命性过量以及儿科人群如何受到影响的关注。目的:我们确定了非致命性儿童芬太尼暴露的患病率和相关特征,并描述了这些特征与主要(危及生命)结局的关系。方法:这项重复的横断面研究检查了2015年至2023年美国49个州中毒中心报告的儿童非致命性芬太尼暴露(0-19岁)的特征。结果:中毒中心报告了3,009例非致命性儿童暴露(41.5%为女性),其中13-19岁为58.9%,0-12岁为41.1%。总体暴露数量从2015年的69例增加到2023年的893例(增加1194.2%,p p p p)结论:儿童芬太尼暴露正在增加,超过三分之一的病例是无意的和/或有记录的危及生命的影响。预防和减少伤害的努力需要包括针对青年的努力,特别是在含有芬太尼的假药充斥非法市场的情况下。
期刊介绍:
The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse (AJDAA) is an international journal published six times per year and provides an important and stimulating venue for the exchange of ideas between the researchers working in diverse areas, including public policy, epidemiology, neurobiology, and the treatment of addictive disorders. AJDAA includes a wide range of translational research, covering preclinical and clinical aspects of the field. AJDAA covers these topics with focused data presentations and authoritative reviews of timely developments in our field. Manuscripts exploring addictions other than substance use disorders are encouraged. Reviews and Perspectives of emerging fields are given priority consideration.
Areas of particular interest include: public health policy; novel research methodologies; human and animal pharmacology; human translational studies, including neuroimaging; pharmacological and behavioral treatments; new modalities of care; molecular and family genetic studies; medicinal use of substances traditionally considered substances of abuse.