We. Hardwick et al., RESPIRATORY DEPRESSION IN A CHILD UNINTENTIONALLY EXPOSED TO TRANSDERMAL FENTANYL PATCH, Southern medical journal, 90(9), 1997, pp. 962-964
A 2-year-old boy was found unresponsive after sleeping in bed with his
grandmother, After the patient was intubated and ventilated, paramedi
cs discovered a transdermal fentanyl patch on the victim's back, Remov
al of the patch and treatment with naloxone resolved symptoms. This is
the first reported case of secondary exposure to a fentanyl patch cau
sing clinically significant respiratory depression in the pediatric po
pulation, and it emphasizes a new hazard of such drug use.