ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Adolescent and Young Adult Psychiatry
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1507639
Examining Drug Poisoning in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Patients: Clinical Analysis and Pharmacy Services
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Pharmacy, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- 2Department of Critical Care Medicine, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
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Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and symptoms of drug poisoning in adolescents with psychiatric conditions, and provide valuable guidance for pharmacists in the prevention and treatment of adolescent drug poisoning. Methods: A total of 84 adolescent patients with drug poisoning were recruited from January 2021 to December 2023. Clinical data of drug poisoning patients were analyzed, and pharmaceutical service implications were discussed based on hospital settings and patient medication profiles. Results: Female adolescents constituted a higher proportion of drug poisoning cases than males. Over 50% cases involved the overdose of two or more drugs, with quantities ranging from several pills to over a hundred. The drugs most commonly involved in overdose were psychiatric medications, including antidepressants (50.0%), antipsychotics (41.7%), sedatives/hypnotics (35.7%), and mood stabilizers (26.2%). Poisoning symptoms predominantly affected the nervous system, such as dizziness, headache, drowsiness, and unsteady gait, with most patients showing improvement after symptomatic treatment (94.0%). Conclusion: Our study highlights the complex relationship between psychiatric disorders and intentional drug overdose among adolescents. Effective prevention strategies, including education on poison prevention, safe medication storage, and safety planning, are crucial for reducing intentional drug overdoses in this vulnerable population.
Keywords: adolescent drug poisoning, psychiatric conditions, Drug Overdose, Pharmaceutical Services, Psychiatric medications
Received: 08 Oct 2024; Accepted: 20 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Wu, Wang, Wang and Luo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Fugang Luo, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.