Not long ago, she received a letter from a patient with hepatitis B who said that her 3-year-old child had taken 4 entecavir (hepatitis B antiviral drug) by mistake. She was very worried and asked what should be done?
The weight of a 3-year-old child is about 14 kg. According to the treatment dose of entecavir recommended by the World Health Organization for children, it is 0.2-0.25 mg. The dose taken by the child of this patient is 8 times of the recommended dose for normal children. However, the liver and kidney functions of children are weak, and excessive entecavir may cause harm to children. According to the treatment of drug overdose, there are several methods.
The first is emesis. After a child takes medicine by mistake, parents should immediately stimulate the child's throat with hands, spoons, chopsticks, etc. to make the child vomit and spit out the medicine just taken. The second is to drink more water and urinate. Entecavir is excreted through the kidney. If it is impossible to spit out after taking excessive drugs, you should drink a lot of water to increase the urine volume. Those who cannot drink water can go to the hospital for infusion, supplement liquid, and then use diuretics to accelerate the excretion of drugs. The third is gastric lavage. Drugs that have not been absorbed in the stomach can be discharged from the body through gastric lavage in the hospital to reduce drug absorption. The fourth is to use antagonists or antidotes. Some drugs can lose toxicity through antagonists or antidotes after overdose. But entecavir has no antagonist and antidote. The fifth is to carry out some laboratory tests, observe adverse reactions and treat symptomatically.
Children have strong imitation. When they see adults taking medicine from medicine bottles, they think it is something delicious and imitate taking medicine. The liver and kidney functions of children are not fully developed, and the metabolism of drugs is weak. Taking excessive drugs may lead to serious consequences. In order to avoid children taking adult drugs by mistake, parents should pay attention to putting their own drugs out of the reach of children and never let children take them by mistake.
Cai Guidong, Chief Physician of Beijing Ditan Hospital
