Pulmonary aspiration after activated charcoal in unintentional acute poisonings in childhood

Introduction: Although the administration of activated charcoal (AC) is considered safe, the associated risk of pulmonary aspiration explains certain reluctance of physicians to use this procedure. The objective of this study was to analyse the rate of pulmonary aspiration in children receiving AC after accidental ingestion of a toxic substance.

Methods: We carried out a substudy of a multicentre prospective registry-based cohort study including children presenting with acute poisoning to 58 paediatric emergency department (EDs) members of the Spanish Society of Pediatric Emergency Medicine between 2008 and 2022 on certain previously designated days.

Results: During the study period, we registered 1983 episodes corresponding to accidental ingestion of a toxic substance in patients less than 7 years old. Of them, 517 (26.1%) received AC, 167 (32.3%) via a nasogastric tube. In most cases, the substance swallowed was a medication (paracetamol, psychotropics, and cough and cold medications accounting for 91.6% of episodes) and 419 children (81%) were asymptomatic on arrival to the ED. Gastric lavage was performed in 81 cases (15.7%). After receiving AC, 448 children (86.6%) were managed as outpatients (329 after a less than 24-hour stay in the ED observation unit).All patients did well, and no cases of pulmonary aspiration were reported, regardless of the route of AC administration.

Conclusions: The administration of AC to children after accidental ingestion of a toxic substance seems to be safe, regardless of the route of administration. Efforts are required to improve the ED management of these children.