Abstract
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.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 471-473 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Pediatrics |
Volume | 108 |
Issue number | 2 II |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 25 2001 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Adrenergic α agonists
- Antihypertensive agents
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
- Clonidine
- Drug compounding
- Drug ingestion
- Drug therapy
- Overdose
- Poisoning
- Toxicity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health