Pediatric Edible Cannabis Exposures and Acute Toxicity: 2017–2021

Abstract

OBJECTIVES This study evaluates trends in pediatric cannabis edible ingestions in children younger than age 6 years with regard to toxicity, medical outcome, and health care utilization for the years 2017–2021. METHODS We performed retrospective analysis of the National Poison Data System data for pediatric exposures to edible cannabis products in children <6 years from 2017 to 2021. Data were analyzed quantitatively with a focus on incidence, common clinical effects, medical outcomes, health care utilization, and changes in acute toxicity between the pre-COVID years (2017–2019) to the COVID years (2020–2021). RESULTS There were 7043 exposures reported during 2017–2021. In 2017, there were 207 reported cases, and in 2021 there were 3054 cases, an increase of 1375.0%. Most exposures (97.7%) occurred in a residential setting. Seventy percent of cases followed to a known outcome were reported to have central nervous system depression. Of all reported cases, 22.7% of patients were admitted to the hospital. There was a significant increase in both ICU and non-ICU admissions, whereas the number of patients treated and released decreased when comparing the pre-COVID years (2017–2019) to the COVID years (2020–2021) (P < .05). Major and moderate effects also significantly increased during the prepandemic years compared with the 2 years during the pandemic (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS There has been a consistent increase in pediatric edible cannabis exposures over the past 5 years, with the potential for significant toxicity. It is important for providers to be aware of this in their practice and it presents an important opportunity for education and prevention.