Pediatric Toxidrome Simulation Curriculum: Opioid Toxidrome

Abstract This course teaches learners to recognize and manage pediatric opioid toxicity and its complication, respiratory failure. The course is simulation-based, with an integrated team communication focus. The learners identify the signs and symptoms of an opioid toxidrome, learn its antidote, and learn that repeated doses of the antidote may be necessary in managing opioid toxicity. The learners should recognize the seriousness of the situation and recruit a full resuscitation team. The primary complication for the team to recognize and manage is respiratory failure. This resource can be used in isolation or as a component of our pediatric toxidrome simulation curriculum to provide more comprehensive pediatric toxicology and resuscitation training. A companion curriculum, the pediatric emergency medicine simulation curriculum, is also available on MedEdPORTAL. This curriculum is the most comprehensive pediatric opioid toxidrome curriculum we have seen. While other scenarios do exist, they lack the background, detailed forethought of learner prerequisites, and potential mistakes and supplemental educational materials provided here. We have included extensive preparatory material to help the instructor prepare the environment, prepare the learners, and set the stage for the educational experience. The scenario itself is more complex, with more potential variations for clinical case progression than seen elsewhere. The debriefing tools are otherwise not available in the literature. This will help support standardization of the teaching process, guiding even less experienced debriefers to maximize their impact. Supplemental learner handouts can help reinforce the teaching points even after the scenario has finished. The inclusion of a learner feedback form, not seen elsewhere in the literature, supports the instructor's ongoing growth while helping faculty to document their teaching efforts. This is the most comprehensive collection of educational material available for this topic.