Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37872564›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2023

Trends in cannabis-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations among children aged 0-11 years in Canada from 2015 to 2021: spotlight on cannabis edibles.

Melanie Varin, Andre Champagne, Jeyasakthi Venugopal, Le Li, Steven R McFaull, Wendy Thompson, Stephanie Toigo, Eva Graham, Anne-Marie Lowe

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
5.7field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The impact of recreational cannabis legalization on pediatric emergency department visits in British Columbia, Canada.Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice · 2026
    Article
  2. Impact of legalization on cannabis exposure calls to the British Columbia Poison Control Centre.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Melanie VarinPublic Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada. melanie.varin@phac-aspc.gc.ca.
Andre ChampagnePublic Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Jeyasakthi VenugopalPublic Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Le LiPublic Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Steven R McFaullPublic Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Wendy ThompsonPublic Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Stephanie ToigoPublic Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Eva GrahamPublic Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Anne-Marie LowePublic Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Public Health Agency of Canada · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCannabis poisonings among children are of public health concern. Existing evidence from the US and from four provinces in Canada (Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia) indicate an increase in pediatric cannabis-related poisonings since the legalization of cannabis. This study evaluates trends in cannabis-related poisoning pediatric emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations in Canada and addresses a gap in literature by describing trends and context around cannabis edible-related poisoning cases using data from a Canadian sentinel surveillance system.

methodsMixed-methods using data from two administrative data sources and one injury/poisoning sentinel surveillance system to estimate age-specific rates of cannabis-related poisonings ED visits (Ontario and Alberta), edible-related events (sentinel surveillance Canada), and hospitalizations (Canada with the exception of Quebec) among children between the ages of 0 to 11 from 2015/2016 to 2021. Annual absolute changes were calculated to quantify the magnitude of change between each age-specific rate. Joinpoint regression was used for trend analysis. A thematic analysis was completed to gain a better understanding of cannabis edible-related poisoning cases in the ED.

resultsThe pediatric age-specific rates for cannabis-related poisoning ED visits (average annual percent change (AAPC) Ontario: 98.2%, 95% CI: 79.1, 119.2; AAPC Alberta: 57.4%, 95% CI: 36.7, 81.2), hospitalizations (AAPC: 63.4%, 95% CI: 42.0, 87.9) and cannabis edible-related events (AAPC: 122.8%, 95% CI: 64.0, 202.6) increased significantly from 2015 to 2021. Almost half of all pediatric edible-related events involved gummy edible products (48.8%, n = 143). Based on the thematic analysis, 88% cannabis edible-related events were attributed to inadvertent ingestion due to access to such products or lack of safe storage practices.

conclusionAge-specific rates of cannabis-related poisoning ED visits (Ontario and Alberta) and hospitalizations (Canada with the exception of Quebec) have increased since cannabis legalization, with the largest increase in rates occurring from 2019 to 2020. A similar increase in the rate of cannabis edible-related cases from sentinel surveillance data underscores the importance of monitoring this outcome. Public health messaging and national public health promotion strategies targeted towards raising awareness on the risks associated with consuming illegal cannabis and safe storage of cannabis could help mitigate cannabis poisonings among children.

Indexed as

CannabisAlbertaCanadaChildChild, PreschoolEmergency Service, HospitalHospitalizationHumansInfantInfant, NewbornOntario

Identifiers

PMID37872564
PMCPMC10591397
OpenAlexW4387876012

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.