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Trends in Emergency Department Visits for Unsupervised Pediatric Medication Exposures
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6 2023
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Source: Am J Prev Med. 64(6):834-843
[PDF-156.33 KB]
Details:
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Alternative Title:Am J Prev Med
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Personal Author:
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Description:Introduction:
Emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations for unsupervised medication exposures among young children increased in the early 2000s. Prevention efforts were initiated in response.
Methods:
Nationally-representative data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System–Cooperative Adverse Drug Event Surveillance project collected from 2009-2020 were analyzed in 2022 to assess overall and medication-specific trends in ED visits for unsupervised exposures among children aged ≤5 years.
Results:
From 2009-2020, there were an estimated 677,968 (95% CI, 550,089-805,846) ED visits for unsupervised medication exposures among children aged ≤5 years in the United States. Most visits involved children aged 1-2 years (2009-2012 [70.3%]; 2017-2020 [67.4%]), and nearly one-half involved prescription solid medications (2009-2012 [49.4%]; 2017-2020 [48.1%]). The largest declines in estimated numbers of annual visits from 2009-2012 to 2017-2020 were for exposures involving prescription solid benzodiazepines (−2,636 visits; −72.0%) and opioids (−2,596 visits; −53.6%), and over-the-counter liquid cough and cold medications (−1,954 visits; −71.6%) and acetaminophen (−1,418 visits; −53.4%). The estimated number of annual visits increased for exposures involving over-the-counter solid herbals/alternative remedies (+1,028 visits; +65.6%), with the largest increase for melatonin exposures (+1,440 visits; +421.1%). Overall, the estimated number of visits for unsupervised medication exposures decreased from 66,416 in 2009 to 36,564 in 2020 (annual percentage change [APC] −6.0%). Emergent hospitalizations for unsupervised exposures also declined (APC −4.5%).
Conclusions:
Declines in estimated ED visits and hospitalizations for unsupervised medication exposures from 2009-2020 coincided with renewed prevention efforts. Targeted approaches may be needed to achieve continued declines in unsupervised medication exposures among young children.
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Source:
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Pubmed ID:37210158
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Pubmed Central ID:PMC10935594
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Funding:
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Volume:64
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Issue:6
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