TY - JOUR
T1 - Passive environmental exposure to cocaine in Canadian children
AU - Garcia-Bournissen, Facundo
AU - Nesterenko, Maria
AU - Karaskov, Tatyana
AU - Koren, Gideon
N1 - Funding Information:
Facundo Garcia-Bournissen is financially supported by the Clinician Scientist Training Award, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada. Gideon Koren is the holder of the Ivey Chair in Molecular Toxicology, Department of Medicine, University of Western Ontario, ON, Canada and the Research Leadership in Better Pharmacotherapy During Pregnancy and Lactation (Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada). No other sources of funding were used to assist in the preparation of this study. The authors have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this study.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Background: Hair testing is commonly used to confirm potential drug exposure in children living with drug users, as well as abstinence in their caregivers. Objective: To examine differences across pediatric age groups in the relationship between caregiver use of cocaine and cocaine exposure in children. Methods: We determined concentrations of cocaine and its metabolite, benzoylecgonine, in the hair of 19 child-caregiver pairs to estimate the pattern of exposure of the children according to age; concentrations in the caregivers' hair were used as a surrogate marker for the intensity of environmental exposure. Cocaine and benzoylecgonine concentrations in hair were determined by immunoassay. Results: A significant correlation was observed between cocaine concentrations in the hair of infants and their caregivers (Spearman rho = 0.87; p = 0.005; n = 8), and the absence of a correlation in older children. These results suggest that environmental exposure plays an important role in the accumulation of cocaine in the hair of infants. Conclusion: Measurement of cocaine hair concentrations can allow estimation of the degree of environmental drug exposure in young children. Infants seem to have a disproportionately increased risk for systemic exposure, compared with older children.
AB - Background: Hair testing is commonly used to confirm potential drug exposure in children living with drug users, as well as abstinence in their caregivers. Objective: To examine differences across pediatric age groups in the relationship between caregiver use of cocaine and cocaine exposure in children. Methods: We determined concentrations of cocaine and its metabolite, benzoylecgonine, in the hair of 19 child-caregiver pairs to estimate the pattern of exposure of the children according to age; concentrations in the caregivers' hair were used as a surrogate marker for the intensity of environmental exposure. Cocaine and benzoylecgonine concentrations in hair were determined by immunoassay. Results: A significant correlation was observed between cocaine concentrations in the hair of infants and their caregivers (Spearman rho = 0.87; p = 0.005; n = 8), and the absence of a correlation in older children. These results suggest that environmental exposure plays an important role in the accumulation of cocaine in the hair of infants. Conclusion: Measurement of cocaine hair concentrations can allow estimation of the degree of environmental drug exposure in young children. Infants seem to have a disproportionately increased risk for systemic exposure, compared with older children.
KW - Children
KW - Cocaine, adverse reactions
KW - Pharmacokinetics
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/58149345830
U2 - 10.2165/0148581-200911010-00011
DO - 10.2165/0148581-200911010-00011
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C2 - 19127949
AN - SCOPUS:58149345830
SN - 1174-5878
VL - 11
SP - 30
EP - 32
JO - Pediatric Drugs
JF - Pediatric Drugs
IS - 1
ER -