Cannabis poisoning under the age of 3 years

Pinedo-Painous I, Garrido-Romero R, Valls-Lafon A, Muñoz-Santanach D, Martínez-Sánchez L

The increased use of cannabis among adults and the general perception that cannabis is harmless has been accompanied by a rise in the number of acute poisoning cases among children. We present a retrospective, descriptive study of patients aged 3 years or younger who were treated for cannabis poisoning in a pediatric emergency department between 2012 and 2017. Epidemiologic and clinical data as well as toxicologic findings are reported. We found 10 cases of cannabis poisoning in our records. Nine of the patients had diminished consciousness. Only 2 families initially reported exposure to cannabis when interviewed. Repeated exposure was demonstrated by analysis of hair from 2 patients. We conclude that

cannabis poisoning should be included in the differential diagnosis of young children with acute neurologic symptoms of unknown origin. When cannabis is detected in urine samples collected in the pediatric emergency department, more specific diagnostic techniques should be used to assess the possibility of repeated exposure.

Garrido Romero R, Martínez Sánchez L, Muñoz Santanach D, Pinedo-Painous I, Valls Lafon A