A 5-year-old child who weighed 17.5 kg received 50 mg of clonidine. The amount ingested was confirmed by analysis of the suspension administered (clonidine HCl 9.78 mg/mL). To our knowledge, this represents the largest ingestion in a child and the largest ingestion on a milligram per kilogram basis in the medical literature. The child's initial presentation included hyperventilation, an unusual feature of clonidine toxicity. The child was discharged without sequela 42 hours after admission. A serum concentration of clonidine 17 hours postingestion was 64 ng/mL, the highest reported to date in a pediatric patient. The intoxication was traced to a pharmacy compounding error in which milligrams were substituted for micrograms. Increased prescribing of clonidine in young children coupled with the requirement to compound clonidine in a suspension and the narrow therapeutic index suggests that the frequency of severe ingestions in children will increase in the future.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.