Fentanyl Intoxication in an Eight Years Old Child after Application of 75 µg/h Transdermal Patch: A Case Report

Abstract

Opioid intoxication in pediatrics is rare in Morocco. In the children’s hospital of Rabat, it is the third case that has been recorded in recent years. It is about a boy of 8 years old who after a benign trauma at the level of the back, his father attached to him a patch of fentanyl dosed at 75 µg/h given by a friend returning from abroad. After 8 hours, the father found his child unconscious with abnormal breathing, motivating him to bring him back to the emergency room of the hospital. He presented a convulsive seizure before being urgently intubated and transferred to intensive care unit. He received a triple dose a day in addition to a contininious infusion of 0,4 milligram of Naloxone. The patient woke up and was extubated after 24 hours, but he kept a divergent strabismus of the right eye for which he was sent to the ophthalmology department for further management. We highlight through this case report the severity of pediatric opioid intoxication and underscores the importance of primary prevention in combating this scourge.