Opioids Primary Cause of Poisoning Deaths in Children

SAVE THE CHILDREN –

March 13, 2023 – More than half of all reported poisonings affect children ages 5 and younger and have the highest rate of emergency department visits for unintentional drug-related poisonings. While child-resistant packaging for many medicines and hazardous products has substantially decreased the number of unintentional fatal poisonings in young children, the escalating opioid epidemic in the United States has contributed to recent child poisoning deaths.

Studying fatal poisonings in young children on a broad scale in the U.S. has been challenging for researchers. Every state conducts child death reviews, which investigate how and why these deaths happen and what steps can be taken to prevent them. Child death reviews are conducted by teams that often take a multidisciplinary approach when reviewing pediatric fatalities. The National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention provides resources for these child death reviews and maintains a reporting system that collects data from these committees.