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2015 to 2023 Saw Increase in Pediatric Nonfatal Fentanyl Exposures

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on March 17, 2025.

MONDAY, March 17, 2025 -- From 2015 to 2023, there was an increase in the number of pediatric nonfatal fentanyl exposures reported to poison centers, according to a study published online March 7 in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

Joseph J. Palamar, M.P.H., Ph.D., from the NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City, and colleagues conducted a repeated cross-sectional study to examine characteristics of pediatric nonfatal fentanyl exposures reported to poison centers in 49 states from 2015 to 2023. The authors further examined the association of these characteristics with major outcomes.

A total of 3,009 nonfatal pediatric exposures were reported to poison centers: 58.9 and 41.1 percent among those aged 13 to 19 and 0 to 12, respectively. The researchers found that from 2015 to 2023, there was an increase in the number of exposures from 69 to 893 (1,194.2 percent increase). Exposures increased by 924.3 and 1,506.3 percent among those aged 0 to 12 and 13 to 19, respectively. The most prevalent route of administration was ingestion-only use (76.9 and 54.1 percent in those aged 0 to 12 and 13 to 19, respectively). From 2015 to 2023, the prevalence of ingestion-only use increased from 44.1 to 67.9 percent of exposures. Most patients aged 0 to 12 years were exposed unintentionally (81.7 percent versus 1.0 percent among those aged 13 to 19 years), while most aged 13 to 19 misused or abused fentanyl (65.7 versus 1.8 percent). Forty-one percent of exposures resulted in a major (life-threatening) event.

"Parents and others, too, need to be careful to not leave fentanyl, whether licit or illicit, out in the open around unsupervised children," Palamar said in a statement.

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted March 2025

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