Nonfatal pediatric fentanyl exposures reported to US poison centers, 2015–2023

Abstract

Background: The opioid crisis, driven by fentanyl use, continues to worsen in the US and there has been a lack of focus on nonfatal overdose and how pediatric populations are being affected. Objectives: We determined the prevalence of nonfatal pediatric fentanyl exposures and associated characteristics and delineated how such characteristics are associated with major (life-threatening) outcomes. Methods: This repeated cross-sectional study examined characteristics of pediatric nonfatal fentanyl exposures (aged 0–19 years) reported to poison centers in 49 US states from 2015 through 2023. Results: 3,009 nonfatal pediatric exposures (41.5% female) were reported to poison centers—58.9% aged 13–19 and 41.1% aged 0–12. The number of exposures increased overall from 69 in 2015 to 893 in 2023 (a 1,194.2% increase, p