Hughes, KaitlinOverberg, AdamSatterfield, KennediVoss, HannahRogerson, Colin2024-09-092024-09-092024Hughes K, Overberg A, Satterfield K, Voss H, Rogerson C. Epidemiologic Trends In Children With Toxicologic Exposures Requiring Intensive Care Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Pediatr Pharmacol Ther. 2024;29(3):273-277. doi:10.5863/1551-6776-29.3.273https://hdl.handle.net/1805/43188Objective: Pediatric poison exposures are a common reason for pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) -admission. The purpose of this study was to examine the exposure trends and patient outcomes in 2018-2019 compared with 2020-2021 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients 18 years of age or younger with a suspected toxicologic exposure from January 2018 to March 2021. The primary endpoint was rate of PICU admissions between the 2 cohorts. Secondary endpoints included medical outcome stratified by severity, PICU length of stay, and need for mechanical ventilation. Results: Our study included a total of 340 patients with median age 14.5 (IQR, 11.9-16.1) years. There was no significant difference in age, sex, or race between the 2 cohorts. The percentage of patients admitted to the PICU for poison exposures was significantly higher in the COVID-19 cohort compared with the pre-COVID-19 cohort (8.4% vs 3.7%, p < 0.01). Severity of medical outcomes differed between the groups; the COVID-19 cohort had more extreme clinical presentations of no effect or death (p < 0.01). No significant difference was found among the remaining secondary outcomes. Classes of substances ingested were comparable with baseline poison center data. Conclusions: Poisoning-related PICU admissions occurred at more than twice the pre-pandemic rate. This may emphasize the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric access and exposure to poisons.en-USPublisher PolicyCOVID-19Critical careEmergenciesEpidemiologyIntensive care unitsPediatricsPoisonsToxicologyArticle