Nearly 2 in 3 Poison Exposures in Young Children May Not Need the ED

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 16, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Nearly two-thirds of suspected poisonings in young children probably do not need the emergency department and can be handled by a call to the local poison control center, according to a study published in the August issue of Clinical Toxicology.

Liam P. McLoughlin, M.D., from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, and colleagues investigated the medical necessity of pediatric emergency department presentations for poison cases where a poison control center was not contacted prior to presenting at the emergency department. The analysis included toxicologist reviews of summaries from 348 poison control center cases, originating from a health care facility, involving patients aged younger than 6 years.

The researchers found that toxicologists said 38 percent of patients definitely did not require emergency department evaluation and 27 percent were unlikely to require it. Toxicologists had increased concern for cases with the presence of clinical symptoms. Based on an analysis of reviewer free-text case comments, understanding the situation surrounding the exposure (e.g., certainty, past medical history; 26 cases) and presence of specific symptoms (e.g., fever, vomiting; 25 cases) were desired to better determine the need for an emergency department.

“A big takeaway from the paper is that more needs to be done to make sure parents, schools, and communities know the poison center is a resource they can turn to when a poisoning is suspected,” McLoughlin said in a statement. “The poison center is available 24/7, 365, and is staffed by amazing people who can provide life-saving information by phone at no cost.”

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