Abstract：
This study investigated methylamphetamine (MA) exposures in the deaths of children (≤ 12 years old) reported to the Coroner in the state of Victoria, Australia, between 2011 and 2020. Demographics, autopsy findings including the cause of death, self-reported prenatal or caregiver drug use, child protection services information, and toxicological findings were summarized by descriptive statistics. Validated methods of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry were used in the analysis of drugs. There were 50 child deaths with MA detected in blood, urine, and/or hair with 64% (n = 32) identified in 2018-2020. Most children were 1-365 days old (66%, n = 33) and the cause of death was unascertained in 62% (n = 31) of cases. MA was toxicologically confirmed in hair (94%, n = 47) significantly more than blood (18%, n = 9). Prenatal or caregiver drug use was self-reported in 44% (n = 22) and 42% (n = 21) of cases, respectively. Moreover, only 54% (n = 27) of deceased children were a child protection client at their time of death. These findings suggest the number of deceased children exposed to MA has increased over the past 10 years, which is consistent with the greater supply of crystal MA in the Australian community. Hair analysis provided additional means to identify cases that were unknown to child protection services and may have implications for other children in the same drug exposure environment.
摘要：
这项研究调查了维多利亚州向死因裁判官报告的儿童（≤12岁）死亡中的甲基苯丙胺（MA）暴露，澳大利亚,从2011年到2020年。人口统计,尸检结果包括死因,自我报告的产前或看护者使用药物，儿童保护服务信息，和毒理学研究结果通过描述性统计进行总结。验证的液相色谱-串联质谱法用于药物分析。有50名儿童因血液中检测到MA而死亡，尿液,和/或头发在2018-2020年确定为64%（n=32）。大多数儿童在1-365天大（66％，n=33），62％（n=31）的死亡原因尚未确定。MA在头发中被毒理学证实(94%，n=47）明显多于血液（18％，n=9)。在44％（n=22）和42％（n=21）的病例中，产前或护理人员使用药物是自我报告的，分别。此外，只有54%(n=27)的死亡儿童在死亡时是儿童保护服务对象。这些发现表明，在过去10年中，接触MA的死亡儿童数量有所增加，这与澳大利亚社区水晶MA的更多供应是一致的。头发分析提供了额外的手段来识别儿童保护服务机构未知的病例，这些病例可能对同一药物暴露环境中的其他儿童产生影响。
