Opioids are the leading cause of childhood poisoning deaths in the US.

The opioids are the substances that contribute the most to poisoning deaths in children five years of age or younger in USAfollowed by over-the-counter medicines for colds, aches and allergies, says a report in the journal Pediatrics published Wednesday.

The study, led by Christopher Gaw, of the Division of Emergency Medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), found that opioids accounted for 52.2% of the substances that contributed to deaths in 2018, compared to 24.1%. in 2005.

In the period analyzed, 731 deaths of children related to poisoning were recorded, of which 42.1% (308) occurred in infants under one year of age and 65.1% (444 deaths) occurred in the child’s home.

The article cites other research that has found that children have been exposed to new sources of opioids over the past decade through the use of heroin, fentanyl, and other derivatives in medication-assisted treatments, such as methadone and buprenophine.

After opioids, the most common substances contributing to childhood poisoning deaths were over-the-counter pharmacies (14.8%), such as pain, allergy and cold medicines.

Among the 661 cases for which there is information on the racial or ethnic group, there were 113 deaths of Hispanic children, that is, 17.1% of those deaths.

“Fatal poisoning is a preventable cause of death among children,” the researchers on Gaw’s team noted. “We collected data from 40 states participating in the national case review and death reporting system.”

They noted that some initiatives for medication safety, such as the adoption of unit-dose packaging, have shown good results in reducing exposure, “but this does not address the situation with illicit opioids or all opioid prescriptions.”

“These data emphasize the importance of designing measures aimed at further reducing fatal poisonings,” completed the study.

Source: EFE