Repeated oral administration of activated charcoal for treating aspirin overdose in young children

Aspirin poisoning in young children is a relatively common occurrence. The probability of severe illness and death in these cases increases as the amount of aspirin swallowed and the amount of time before it is excreted increases. It is therefore very important to speed up the rate of excretion as much as possible. A common way to help the child excrete aspirin, an acid, is to give treatments of bicarbonate, an alkaline substance, and also to force fluids, although this second approach can cause severe side effects. Previously, case histories were reported in which adults and two adolescents who had aspirin poisoning were treated with some success using activated charcoal given orally. Two children under the age of two are described here; they were treated with charcoal, in addition to bicarbonate, with apparently improved aspirin excretion compared with the expected results of bicarbonate alone. Excretion was determined by measuring the reduction in the amount of aspirin in the blood during the 30 hours of charcoal treatment. The changes in blood aspirin levels were compared with those reported in other cases, and in these two children, the levels dropped more rapidly. These results, if found to be generally true in cases of aspirin poisoning, suggest that less illness and death may result from such poisoning if treatment with activated charcoal is used. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)