More than 25% of opioid-related poisoning cases are in children

More than 1 in 4 cases that involved opioid-related calls to U.S. poison control centers were in children, according to new research. Between 2005 and 2018, there were more than 207,000 opioid-related calls to poison control centers for those under 19, with those under the age of 4 making up the majority of cases. Nearly 30% of cases involved hydrocodone, and the cases were fairly evenly split between boys and girls. And although the majority of cases were unintentional, the researchers noted that they observed a steady increase in poisoning-related suicide attempts over the study time period, from around 14% between 2005-2009, to more than 20% between 2015-2018. The proportion of children admitted to critical care for opioid poisoning also increased over time, suggesting an uptick in the severity of such events.