DrugWatch – March 1, 2011
Approximately 700,000 visits to the emergency room were linked to drug-related poisoning in 2007, according to a new study published February 28 on the Nationwide Children’s Hospital website. Researchers found that 44 percent of poisonings were caused by prescription medications such antidepressants and opioid pain relievers.
The study found that, on average, 1,900 people per day were sent to the emergency room due to drug overdoses. According to researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the cost associated with these visits totals approximately $1.4 billion per year.
“The magnitude of these findings is staggering,” said Dr. Gary Smith, a professor of pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. “The number and cost of drug-related poisonings identified in this study indicate a public health emergency that requires a decisive and coordinated response at national, state, and local levels.”
Children aged 5 years old and younger were connected with the highest rate of emergency room visits caused by unintentional drug poisoning.
About 41 percent of emergency room visits were caused by antidepressants and tranquilizers, with 23 percent caused by pain and fever control medications. Suicidal behavior was connected with 52 percent of antidepressant poisonings and 41 percent of pain medication overdoses.
“The current epidemic of drug-related poisonings has a new face,” Smith said. “Unlike epidemics in the past involving illegal drugs, such as heroin and crack cocaine, misuse of prescription drugs, especially opioid pain medications, is now the cause of an unprecedented number of emergency department visits and deaths.”
The number of drug-related poisonings and deaths has been steadily increasing throughout the past 10 years, researchers said.
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