Over the eight-year period from 2015 through 2023, more than 3,000 children in the U.S. were poisoned with the powerful opioid fentanyl and survived, according to research published Friday in The American Journal of Drug And Alcohol Abuse.
This is based on an analysis of nonfatal fentanyl pediatric exposures reported to poison centers in 49 U.S. states.
Nearly 60% of these incidents happened to youth aged 13 to 19 years old, compared to just over 41% of children younger than 12. While the older cohort mostly (65.7%) used fentanyl intentionally for non-medical purposes a great majority (81.7%) of the younger group was exposed to the drug unintentionally.
“Children may touch or ingest such items out of curiosity, through a lack of a sense of danger, or even imitation of a parent who uses,” said lead author Dr. Joseph Palamar, from the Department of Population Health, at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, in New York. “Even used fentanyl patches can lead to accidental or intentional poisonings among pediatric populations.”
Fentanyl is used legally in medical settings, often to help with surgery or severe pain. It also became increasingly prevalent in illicit drugs found in the U.S. over recent years, contributing to a sharp increase in overdose deaths that have been on a decline since last year.
During 2023, the final year of the study period, close to 45% of the non-fatal youth fentanyl exposures were life-threatening, according to the study. That represented a 15.9% increase compared to 2015. Male children accounted for 58.5% of the non-fatal exposures.
Some cases of youth fentanyl exposure have turned fatal. Last April, Audacy reported on an investigation that showed an 8-year-old boy died due to fentanyl exposure.
“Pediatric exposures to fentanyl are increasing and over one-third of cases are unintentional and/or had documented life-threatening effects,” said the recent study. “Prevention and harm reduction efforts need to include efforts for youth, particularly as counterfeit pills containing fentanyl flood the illicit market.”
There is currently legislation in congress, the HALT Fentanyl Act, to permanently place fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. That would define it as “a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act.”