Evaluation Of Acute Cannabis Intoxication In Pre- School Children Admitted to Poison Control Center –Ain Shams University Hospitals

Abstract

Cannabis use has increased sharply all around the world. Widespread use of cannabis translates to greater access for children. Acute cannabis intoxication in children typically occurs after exploratory ingestion of cannabis intended for adult use. The most common serious cases involve children swallowing hashish resin, which confused with chocolate or something else that is edible. There are no validated scoring systems for categorizing severity or predicting the outcome of acute cannabis intoxication in children. This makes predicting outcome of acute cannabis intoxication in children inaccurate and hazardous. The current study was a cross-sectional study, carried on pre-school children of both sexes who admitted to PCC- ASUH, during the period from March 2019 to December 2019, with history of acute cannabis toxicity and confirmed by cannabis positive screen test. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of acute cannabis intoxication in pre-school children in Egypt, analysis of different factors related to the problem, clinical picture, management & assessment of outcome and severity of the problem by poison severity score (PSS). For each patient, socio-demographic and intoxication data were obtained. In addition, detailed clinical evaluation and laboratory investigations were recorded including random blood glucose level, arterial blood gas analysis, electrocardiographic findings, duration of hospital admission and causes of ICU admission were also recorded. Evaluation of severity of poisoning was assessed at the time of peak manifestations using PSS of European Association of Poisons Centers and Clinical Toxicologists (EAPCCT) and finally, the PSS was correlated with the patients’ data to highlight various risk factors affecting the severity of poisoning in acute cannabis intoxication.