Cannabis Legalization and Resource Use for Ingestions by Young Children. Pediatrics 2024 Jun 01;153(6)
Date
05/01/2024Pubmed ID
38690624Pubmed Central ID
PMC11153323DOI
10.1542/peds.2024-065881Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85195228939 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 1 CitationAbstract
OBJECTIVE: In conjunction with widening legalization, there has been a rapid rise in unintentional cannabis ingestions in young children. We sought to determine if the legal status of recreational cannabis was associated with resource use in young children with cannabis poisoning.
METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study of the Pediatric Health Information System included emergency department encounters between January 2016 and April 2023 for children <6 years of age with a diagnosis indicating cannabis ingestion. The primary exposure was recreational cannabis legalization status in the state in which the encounter occurred. We used logistic regression models to determine the association of recreational cannabis legality with resource utilization outcomes, adjusting for demographic covariates.
RESULTS: We included 3649 children from 47 hospitals; 29% of encounters occurred in places in which recreational cannabis was legal. Compared with environments in which recreational cannabis was illegal, cannabis-legal locations had lower uses of advanced neuroimaging (24% vs 35%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.55-0.77), lumbar puncture (1.6% vs 3.8%; aOR, 0.42; 95% CI: 0.24-0.70), ICU admission (7.9% vs 11%; aOR, 0.71; 95% CI: 0.54-0.93), and mechanical ventilation (0.8% vs 2.9%; aOR, 0.30; 95% CI: 0.14-0.58). Urine testing was more common in places in which recreational cannabis was legal (71% vs 58%; aOR, 1.87; 95% CI: 1.59-2.20).
CONCLUSIONS: State-level legalization of recreational cannabis was associated with a significant decrease in the utilization of advanced medical resources in cases of cannabis intoxication in children. These findings suggest the need for a focus on policies and procedures to minimize invasive testing in cases of cannabis intoxication in children.
Author List
Walsh PS, Dupont AS, Lipshaw MJ, Visotcky A, Thomas DGAuthors
Amanda Dupont DO Assistant Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of WisconsinDanny G. Thomas MD, MPH Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Alexis M. Visotcky Program Director I in the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Patrick S. Walsh MD Assistant Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
CannabisChild
Child, Preschool
Cross-Sectional Studies
Emergency Service, Hospital
Female
Humans
Infant
Legislation, Drug
Male
Retrospective Studies
United States
