(TheLastPatriotNews.com) – A new study has found that opioids present the greatest poison danger to young children in the United States as they are responsible for more than half of all child poisoning cases leading to death.
About 52% of all poisoning deaths of children below six years of age in the United States in 2018 resulted from opioid ingestion, according to the report.
The study findings, published online in the Pediatrics journal on March 8, show that the share of opioid-related deaths of infants and toddlers is more than twice as much as in 2005.
“In fact, it has doubled since 2005, when about 24% of all poisoning deaths were attributable to opioids,” said lead researcher Dr. Christopher Gaw, a pediatric emergency physician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
“The opioid epidemic hasn’t spared our nation’s infants and young children. They’re being affected, too,” he added, as cited by Newsmax.
He and his colleagues have found the growing share of opioids in young children’s poisoning deaths is in line with the opioid epidemic.
“This confirms what we know, which is there are more opioids available in the household, and anytime something is more available, we see that mirrored in poisoning exposures,” commented Dr. Diane Calello, a pediatric emergency physician and medical director of the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System, in Newark, New Jersey.
The scientific team reviewed child death data from the U.S. National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention.
Its data for 2005-2018 showed a total of 731 poisoning deaths of children who were five or younger, with infants under one accounting for about 40% of all poisoning death cases.
47% of child poisoning deaths during that period involved opioids. Over-the-counter pain, colds, and allergy medications caused another 15%.
However, the share of infants and toddlers who perished after ingesting opioids increased substantially in recent years.
The publication of the study findings comes after a French family recently filed a lawsuit against Airbnb after their 19-month-old daughter died due to fentanyl exposure at a Florida vacation rental.
Baby girl Enora Lavenir died in August 2021 after she was put down for a nap. The autopsy discovered her death was caused by acute fentanyl toxicity. However, it remained unclear how she ingested the lethal drug.
According to the lawsuit, the property the French family stayed yet was advertised on Airbnb as a “peaceful place to stay” but had a history of party house use.
Dr. Sam Wang, a pediatric toxicologist with Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, warned that even a small dose of opioids could threaten an infant’s life.
That is especially true with synthetic opioids like fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine.
“The amount of fentanyl can vary in these small illicit pills, but it can be enough to kill an adult, let alone a child,” Wang said.
What is your opinion? Do you believe the Biden administration is doing enough to combat the danger of opioids? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts and views by emailing [email protected]. Thank you.
Opioids pose the greatest poison risk to children in the United States, a new study shows.
https://t.co/9nc6qPwUEx— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) March 8, 2023
