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Pediatric Vulnerabilities
Pediatric/Obstetric/Geriatric Vulnerabilities
Children exposed to the same level of cyanide agents as adults will usually receive higher doses because they have greater lung surface area: body weight ratios and increased minute volume: weight ratios.
Young children especially under the age of four are more prone to develop seizure disorders secondary to hypoxia, or other CNS insult.
Children are more vulnerable to these toxicants being absorbed through the skin because their skin is thinner, contains more moisture, and they have a larger surface area to weight ratio than adults.
In animal studies, it has been documented that sodium thiosulfate does not cross the placenta when utilized to treat cyanide toxicit,y but by treating the mother the cyanide levels in the fetus were lowered.
