Characterization of pediatric beta‐adrenergic antagonist ingestions reported to the National Poison Data System from 2000 to 2020

Abstract

BackgroundWhen ingested by children, small quantities of beta‐adrenergic antagonists (BAA) are described as dangerous and even potentially lethal (“one pill can kill”). We characterize demographics, clinical characteristics, and the rate of serious outcomes among pediatric patients with reported BAA ingestions.MethodsThis study was a retrospective review of U.S. patients <20 years old with reported single‐agent BAA ingestions presenting to a health care facility between January 2000 and February 2020 for whom a poison control center was consulted. Data were abstracted from the National Poison Data System (NPDS). Medical outcomes were assessed by the NPDS scale of no effect, minor effect, moderate effect, major effect, and death. All relevant NPDS fatality narratives were reviewed.ResultsA total of 35,436 reported exposures were identified. A total of 29,155 (82.3%) were <6 years old, of which 29,089 (99.8%) were unintentional. Twenty‐five patients (<0.1%) <6 years old had major effects. A total of 2316 (8.8%) of patients with no/mild effects were admitted to a critical care unit. Of all cases, 1460 (4.1%) had hypotension and 1403 (4.0%) had bradycardia. One hundred nineteen (0.3%) developed hypoglycemia. The only four fatalities resulted from intentional ingestions in patients >10 years old who sustained cardiac arrest in the prehospital setting.ConclusionsReported BAA ingestions in this multiyear national pediatric cohort caused infrequent toxicity, and no fatalities resulted from an unintentional ingestion. The frequency of bradycardia, hypotension, and hypoglycemia were low. While severely poisoned patients require aggressive treatment, 8.8% of patients were admitted to a critical care unit despite having no or mild effects, which suggests an opportunity to reduce resource utilization.

Intensive Care Interventions Among Children With Toxicologic Exposures to Cardiovascular Medications

“…Those with a p value of less than 0.2 in the bivariate analysis for PICU intervention were entered as independent variables in a multivariable logistic regression model with PICU intervention as the dependent variable. The medication classes beta-adrenergic antagonists and calcium channel antagonists, deemed of clinical importance to the authors due to potential for severe toxicity (19)(20)(21)(22), were also included as independent variables in the model.…”