Among young children, opioids are the most common substance contributing to fatal poisonings, according to a study published in Pediatrics. Christopher E. Gaw, MD, and colleagues described fatal pediatric poisonings using data acquired from 40 states participating in a reporting system on poison-related deaths among children aged 5 and younger during 2005-2018. Among 731 poisoning-related fatalities reported, 42.1% occurred in children younger than 1; 65.1% occurred in the child’s home. At the time of death, 97 of 581 children had an open child protective services case. Overall, 32.2% of children were supervised by an individual other than their biological parent. The most common substance contributing to death was opioids (47.3%), followed by over-the-counter pain, cold, and allergy medications (14.8%). Opioids accounted for 24.1% and 52.2% of the substances contributing to deaths in 2005 and 2018,
respectively.
