A new medical study published in the United States. shows that rising numbers of children are being poisoned by the synthetic opioid fentanyl. It also showed an increasing number of older teens are intentionally experimenting with the drug.
The study published in The American Journal of Drug And Alcohol Abuse was based on data collected over the eight year period from 2015 to 2023.
The peer-reviewed findings in the study were published on Mar. 8 as the U.S. continues to battle a severe opioid crisis “driven by fentanyl use”. Fentanyl with co-use of psycho-stimulants has come to define the “fourth wave” of the opioid crisis, said the report.
The study examined characteristics of pediatric non-fatal fentanyl exposures (aged 0–19 years) reported to poison control centres across the United States. More than 3,000 cases were detailed over the eight-year period.
In 2023 alone, said the report, there were more than 44 per cent of the cases described as life-threatening; situations where youngsters exposed to fentanyl could have died if they had not been treated. This was a significant increase from the 15.9 per cent of severe cases reported in 2015, said the study.
The report said most incidents (1,771) involved youth aged 13–19 (58.9 per cent), compared with 1,238 cases (41.1 per cent) involving children aged 0-12. The report also showed that roughly 59 per cent of the patients treated were males.
The data also showed the majority (81.7 per cent) of younger patients, aged 0–12 years, were exposed unintentionally, while most of the older patients aged 13 and older (65.7 per cent) were using fentanyl intentionally for nonmedical purposes.
The report said the trends in nonfatal pediatric overdose (including unintentional exposures) are under-investigated. In addition, the report said "the fentanyl landscape is shifting with counterfeit prescription pills containing illicit fentanyl comprising almost half (49%) of seized fentanyl in the US in 2023. This is alarming as younger individuals in particular are more likely to experience fatal overdoses linked to use of such pills."
The study’s conclusion said this was one of the first formal examinations of the prevalence and trends in non-fatal fentanyl exposure among pediatric patients from poison centres.
“Non-fatal pediatric exposures have increased and are becoming more severe. Increased prevention, treatment, and harm reduction (including naloxone) are needed, and education is needed for those using illicitly manufactured opioids to keep them out of reach from children.”
Specific information was not provided on how the younger patients came to be exposed to fentanyl. The study also said not enough information is available regarding the extent to which fatal pediatric poisonings have resulted from illicitly manufactured fentanyl vs. prescribed fentanyl (e.g., prescribed to a child’s caregiver) and whether use was intentional or unintentional in nature.
The report also said that in the older group there was documented co-exposure to other substances such as benzodiazepines, other opioids, cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine, and alcohol.
The full text of the study is available online.