Age as a predictor for hospital admission and length of stay in pediatric cannabis exposure

Pediatric cannabis exposure is an increasing cause of Emergency Department (ED) visits and hospital admissions. Prior research has shown that younger children may experience more severe symptoms from unintentional ingestion, leading to higher admission rates but the association between age and likelihood of admission versus discharge from the ED among older children and adolescents remains underexplored. This study sought to evaluate whether age was a predictor of admission to a hospital following accidental cannabis ingestion in pediatric patients. The 2020 National Emergency Department Sample was used to identify patients with cannabis exposure (as defined by the ICD-10 codes). The primary outcome measure was admission to the hospital. Patients were grouped in the following age categories: 0-5 years, 6-11 years, 12-18 years, and 19-21 years. Pediatric patients aged 6 or older had lower odds of admission to a hospital following accidental cannabis exposure (p<0.001). However, for patients admitted to a hospital, older age was associated with longer length of stay (p<0.001). Although older pediatric age was associated with lower odds of hospital admission following accidental cannabis exposure compared to patients less than six years old, older age was associated with longer length of hospital stay.