Reversal of Pediatric Opioid Toxicity with Take-Home Naloxone: a Case Report

Background Take-home naloxone, an opioid antagonist, has become part of a multimodal approach to curbing opioid-related mortality. However, there is little information about the utility of take-home naloxone in pediatric patients. We report a case of opioid toxicity after exposure to methadone in a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of medical toxicology Vol. 15; no. 2; pp. 134 - 135
Main Authors Lebin, Jacob A., Chen, Betty C., Valento, Matthew J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Springer US 01.04.2019
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Case Report
Case reports
Children
Drug overdose
Emergency medical services
Ingestion
Methadone
Mortality
Naloxone
Narcotics
Opioids
Overdose
Pediatrics
Pharmacology/Toxicology
Public health
Toxicity
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Summary:Background Take-home naloxone, an opioid antagonist, has become part of a multimodal approach to curbing opioid-related mortality. However, there is little information about the utility of take-home naloxone in pediatric patients. We report a case of opioid toxicity after exposure to methadone in a pediatric patient, which was successfully reversed with take-home naloxone. Case A previously healthy 22-month-old girl ingested an unknown amount of liquid methadone. The child became progressively somnolent. The mother administered intranasal naloxone at home with reversal of somnolence. The patient presented to the emergency department and had recurrence of symptoms. The patient was placed on a naloxone infusion and discharged from a tertiary care facility, uneventfully, 2 days after ingestion. Results To our knowledge, we report the first case of pediatric opioid toxicity reversed by take-home naloxone. In the setting of rising opioid-related mortality, providers and public health officials should consider expanding access of take-home naloxone for children at high risk for opioid overdose.
ISSN:1556-9039
1937-6995
DOI:10.1007/s13181-018-0695-z