Research Characteristics of Fatal Poisonings Among Infants and Young Children in the United States

[thegreenhand]

Characteristics of Fatal Poisonings Among Infants and Young Children in the United States​

Gaw, Christopher E., Curry, Allison E., Osterhoudt, Kevin C., Wood, Joanne N., Corwin, Daniel J.
Pediatrics
8 Mar 2023

Summary:

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
Fatal poisoning is a preventable cause of death among young children. Understanding factors surrounding these deaths will inform future prevention efforts. Our objective was to describe the characteristics of fatal pediatric poisonings using child death review data.

METHODS:
We acquired data from 40 states participating in the National Fatality Review-Case Reporting System on deaths attributed to poisonings among children aged ≤5 years from 2005 to 2018. We analyzed select demographic, supervisor, death investigation, and substance-related variables using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS:
During the study period, 731 poisoning-related fatalities were reported by child death reviews to the National Fatality Review-Case Reporting System. Over two-fifths (42.1%, 308 of 731) occurred among infants aged <1 year, and most fatalities (65.1%, 444 of 682) occurred in the child’s home. One-sixth of children (97 of 581) had an open child protective services case at time of death. Nearly one-third (32.2%, 203 of 631) of children were supervised by an individual other than the biological parent. Opioids (47.3%, 346 of 731) were the most common substance contributing to death, followed by over-the-counter pain, cold, and allergy medications (14.8%, 108 of 731). Opioids accounted for 24.1% (7 of 29) of the substances contributing to deaths in 2005 compared with 52.2% (24 of 46) in 2018.

CONCLUSIONS:
Opioids were the most common substances contributing to fatal poisonings among young children. Over-the-counter medications continue to account for pediatric fatalities even after regulatory changes. These data highlight the importance of tailored prevention measures to further reduce fatal child poisonings.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

Characteristics of Fatal Poisonings Among Infants and Young Children in the United States​

Gaw, Christopher E., Curry, Allison E., Osterhoudt, Kevin C., Wood, Joanne N., Corwin, Daniel J.
Pediatrics
8 Mar 2023

Summary:

This study was garbage because they didn’t break the data down into what specific type of opioids each weightedly contributed to the death numbers.

They didn’t specify if it was 95% fentanyl junkies leaving their dope out for the kids or if it was a legitimate opioid script for a pain patient.

So this garbage study can easily be weaponized by the media against opioid access rights

 

[Jerry Atrick]

This study was garbage because they didn’t break the data down into what specific type of opioids each weightedly contributed to the death numbers.

They didn’t specify if it was 95% fentanyl junkies leaving their dope out for the kids or if it was a legitimate opioid script for a pain patient.

So this garbage study can easily be weaponized by the media against opioid access rights

Careful using the word "junky" around here. Not every fentanyl user is leaving their shit out and murdering children, not that "junkies" are all doing that either. Also, fentanyl is a legit opioid prescribed to pain patients.

It's okay to disagree with a post/article but there is no need to be so aggressive in getting your point across. We're all friends here

 

[LucidSDreamr]

Careful using the word "junky" around here. Not every fentanyl user is leaving their shit out and murdering children, not that "junkies" are all doing that either. Also, fentanyl is a legit opioid prescribed to pain patients.

It's okay to disagree with a post/article but there is no need to be so aggressive in getting your point across. We're all friends here

I’m well aware there are illicit drug users that do it responsibly….that’s what this site is about.

You can’t deny that majority of hard drug users are pretty irresponsible though…even the best of us fuck up eventually too when drugs are involved. Nature of the beast

 

[thegreenhand]

They didn’t specify if it was 95% fentanyl junkies leaving their dope out for the kids or if it was a legitimate opioid script for a pain patient.

Are illicit fentanyl users inherently more irresponsible than pain patients? I don’t think that’s necessarily true. But for the sake of argument let’s suppose that they are. What should we do about that? Arrest them ?

And like jerry atrick noted, pharmaceutical fentanyl is used daily by many pain patients…

You can’t deny that majority of hard drug users are pretty irresponsible though…even the best of us fuck up eventually too when drugs are involved. Nature of the beast

This logic can easily be extended to non addicts too (including pain patients) Everyone fucks up eventually, right?

 

[LucidSDreamr]

Are illicit fentanyl users inherently more irresponsible than pain patients? I don’t think that’s necessarily true. But for the sake of argument let’s suppose that they are. What should we do about that? Arrest them ?

And like jerry atrick noted, pharmaceutical fentanyl is used daily by many pain patients…


This logic can easily be extended to non addicts too (including pain patients) Everyone fucks up eventually, right?

Ignoring user responsiblity fent it way more dangerous to even have

For starters pain pills come in a child lock bottle and fent comes in a plastic bag that will leak if bitten.

Also a child is far more likely to die from swallowing a bump of fent then a few norco (if they can even swallow those giant pills)

If I consider users though fent addicts are more likely to nod out than a pain patient. They will thus miss the kid eating it

 

[Jerry Atrick]

Ignoring user responsiblity fent it way more dangerous to even have

For starters pain pills come in a child lock bottle and fent comes in a plastic bag that will leak if bitten.

Also a child is far more likely to die from swallowing a bump of fent then a few norco (if they can even swallow those giant pills)

If I consider users though fent addicts are more likely to nod out than a pain patient. They will thus miss the kid eating it

Just for the record, I've pretty much agreed with everything you have said in this thread. I see solid points raised by both you and @thegreenhand regarding fent usage and Harm Reduction. My issue, however, was never about agreement or disagreement. It was more about the vocabulary used to make the argument.

Anyways, I appreciate that we have all been able to keep it civil and not resort to personal attacks due to opinions or positions on the subject matter. Peace, everyone

 

[Squeaky]

I was legitimately prescribed 30mg oxy’s for couple of years. Several times, myself or my wife found one of those little blue pills on the floor in front of my dresser (that’s where I keep my prescriptions). I wouldn’t call myself a junkie. If my children had been very young….. who knows if my family could have been included in these statistics.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

I was legitimately prescribed 30mg oxy’s for couple of years. Several times, myself or my wife found one of those little blue pills on the floor in front of my dresser (that’s where I keep my prescriptions). I wouldn’t call myself a junkie. If my children had been very young….. who knows if my family could have been included in these statistics.

In the case of extremely strong meds like oxy 30s yea those can def be dangerous to a child.

Nowadays after the crackdown most ppl don’t have meds that strong anymore so im Sure if the data was broken down to post 2016 crackdown we would see almost zero kid fatalities from legit pain patients

That my concern here…. I hate when studies and data don’t differentiate between illicit fent and pain drugs because the studies are always weaponized by anti opioid anti pain agencies and media to cut off pain patients (and thus create a new fent user)

 

[RuffSamurai]

I’m well aware there are illicit drug users that do it responsibly….that’s what this site is about.

You can’t deny that majority of hard drug users are pretty irresponsible though…even the best of us fuck up eventually too when drugs are involved. Nature of the beast

Idk man I literally was washing the skin off my hands when I was using fentanyl to make sure I didn’t accidentally get any on my cat. Only was ever allowed to use it one room, the bathroom. But yeah one night we ended up “losing a pill” (we probably smoked it and nodded out and forgot) and tore the whole house apart looking for it. So yeah shit happens.

 

[thegreenhand]

Ignoring user responsiblity fent it way more dangerous to even have

For starters pain pills come in a child lock bottle and fent comes in a plastic bag that will leak if bitten.

Also a child is far more likely to die from swallowing a bump of fent then a few norco (if they can even swallow those giant pills)

If I consider users though fent addicts are more likely to nod out than a pain patient. They will thus miss the kid eating it

Alright, I’ll concede that the potency and lack of safe storage containers are problematic. Nodding out is a good point too.

But, to circle back to your original statement, does that mean the study is garbage? I don’t think the authors were intending to create an anti-opioid weapon with the paper. This sort of research on causes of pediatric mortality would exist even without opioid hysteria, it would’ve been published all the same if #1 was acetaminophen or alcohol.

They may have even initially attempted to break it down by substance, but found that the reporting quality wasn’t good enough to do so. There’s many documented problems with the current system as it’s basically up to the states to set quality standards. It’s hard to do work that’s looking at national level data with those constraints.

I see solid points raised by both you and @thegreenhand regarding fent usage and Harm Reduction. My issue, however, was never about agreement or disagreement. It was more about the vocabulary used to make the argument.

Anyways, I appreciate that we have all been able to keep it civil and not resort to personal attacks due to opinions or positions on the subject matter. Peace, everyone

@LucidSDreamr knows I love him

We often disagree on drug policy issues, but it’s never personal. He often provides great counterpoints that help me to refine my ideas, thats why this sub forum exists.

I’ve always enjoyed our deliberations, hope the feeling‘s mutual.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

Alright, I’ll concede that the potency and lack of safe storage containers are problematic. Nodding out is a good point too.

But, to circle back to your original statement, does that mean the study is garbage? I don’t think the authors were intending to create an anti-opioid weapon with the paper. This sort of research on causes of pediatric mortality would exist even without opioid hysteria, it would’ve been published all the same if #1 was acetaminophen or alcohol.

They may have even initially attempted to break it down by substance, but found that the reporting quality wasn’t good enough to do so. There’s many documented problems with the current system as it’s basically up to the states to set quality standards. It’s hard to do work that’s looking at national level data with those constraints.



@LucidSDreamr knows I love him

We often disagree on drug policy issues, but it’s never personal. He often provides great counterpoints that help me to refine my ideas, thats why this sub forum exists.

I’ve always enjoyed our deliberations, hope the feeling‘s mutual.

I’m sure the study doesn’t say anything wrong so it’s not garbage in that sense.

When you do any type of science you’re supposed to comment on broader things as to how your narrow study fits into the big picture…that was greatly lacking in this paper imo.

And so much science is weaponized against all kinds of drugs (except weed nowadays all of a sudden) that it pisses me off when science is slanted or neutral on such issues re drugs

I think was it fent or prescription drugs is a glaringly obvious and the most important thing to consider in a study like this because policy is all we can control and that data is how you change or consider policy. Author L.

 

[MobiusDick]

I’m well aware there are illicit drug users that do it responsibly….that’s what this site is about.

You can’t deny that majority of hard drug users are pretty irresponsible though…even the best of us fuck up eventually too when drugs are involved. Nature of the beast

Most of the blood is on the hands of the DEA bc keeping fentanyl illegal is obviously so much more dangerous. A known amount of a known substance is so much safer than an unknown amount of an unknown substance. It’s so logical but the government always has to have something to scapegoat.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

Most of the blood is on the hands of the DEA bc keeping fentanyl illegal is obviously so much more dangerous. A known amount of a known substance is so much safer than an unknown amount of an unknown substance. It’s so logical but the government always has to have something to scapegoat.

I’m really wondering if it’s stupidity on the governments part, fear on their part bc the population is too stupid to know the history and consequences of prohibition…or actual malice and purposely wanting to kill more addicts or chronically ill ppl on the governments part…either way ALL of how bad this has gotten is their fault

 

[SpiralusSancti]

It’s really a sad world when infants die from fentanyl. I wonder how many cases of infats dying was in fact cuz someone gave them just a tiny dose to calm them and to make them stop crying and it ended up killing them. Cuz how the fuck an infant gets to the fent and ingests it? How the fuck that happens!? It’s really hard to come up with an scenario in which infant really ingests fentanyl accidentally. It’s about the same as if infant dies from firearm, how that happens if not by getting firearm to the crib, same with fent..

 

[ColoradoOpiateGirl]

It’s really a sad world when infants die from fentanyl. I wonder how many cases of infats dying was in fact cuz someone gave them just a tiny dose to calm them and to make them stop crying and it ended up killing them. Cuz how the fuck an infant gets to the fent and ingests it? How the fuck that happens!? It’s really hard to come up with an scenario in which infant really ingests fentanyl accidentally. It’s about the same as if infant dies from firearm, how that happens if not by getting firearm to the crib, same with fent..

Is it the discarded patches they get into from the trash? Fucking saddest shit ever and dear God where are we as a society if people use drugs to calm babies. I knew a woman who dosed her preschooler with benadryl and melatonin, I cut her out of my circle REAL quick. My daughter threw up once after spending time with her and her son. I wonder if she drugged my kid. I think about that poor little boy often and hope he's fucking ok.

 

[somnilicious]

My grandmother said it was common to put a little paregoric on a babies pacifier if the baby was being especially fussy or so the mother could slip next door for some coffee. I guess it was a different time.

 

[SpiralusSancti]

Here it was also common to give babies either alcohol or poppy tea to calm them. It wasn’t unheard that someone gives baby some tea, goes to work in field and finds a baby dead.

Like @ColoradoOpiateGirl I too unfortunately heard of modern examples. My ex was told by some of her girlfriends how after a baby is 6 months old it’s ok to give them a tiny amount of diazepam if nothing calms them and that’s really fucked up.

Also a good friend told me that there’s melatonin formulation aimed for infants. I think that’s also fucked up as messing with hormones in such an early stage can’t be good.

 

[ColoradoOpiateGirl]

Yeah, buck up and be a fucking parent. It's called self sacrifice. That's why I quit drinking, coke, psychedelics etc. My daughter's health and well being outweighs my "need" for pleasure, space or COFFEE lol.... every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

 

[Traptsoul]

My grandmother said it was common to put a little paregoric on a babies pacifier if the baby was being especially fussy or so the mother could slip next door for some coffee. I guess it was a different time.

My grandparents used whiskey or rum on a pacifier to help with teething, or otherwise general craziness. That was pretty regular back when they, out my parents, were very young. I don't think they ever used any kind of drug, or prescription for it. Still not a great thing to be done, but that's what most people are doing back then.