4.2 Article

US emergency department visits for acute harms from over-the-counter cough and cold medications, 2017-2019

Journal

PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY AND DRUG SAFETY
Volume 31, Issue 2, Pages 225-234

Publisher

WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/pds.5384

Keywords

adverse drug event; cough and cold medication; medication safety; nonmedical drug use; unsupervised exposure

Ask authors/readers for more resources

The analysis of emergency department visits related to over-the-counter cough and cold medications shows a high number of cases, mainly attributed to non-therapeutic use, especially unsupervised exposure in children. Visits for self-harm require a higher proportion of patients to be hospitalized.
Background and Purpose Characterization of emergency department (ED) visits for acute harms related to use of over-the-counter cough and cold medications (CCMs) by patient demographics, intent of CCM use, concurrent substance use, and clinical manifestations can help guide prevention of medication harms. Methods Public health surveillance data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-Cooperative Adverse Drug Event Surveillance project were used to estimate numbers and population rates of ED visits from 2017 to 2019. Results Based on 1396 surveillance cases, there were an estimated 26 735 (95% CI, 21 679-31 791) US ED visits for CCM-related harms annually, accounting for 1.3% (95% CI, 1.2-1.5%) of all ED visits for medication adverse events. Three fifths (61.4%, 95% CI, 55.6-67.2%) of these visits were attributed to non-therapeutic CCM use (nonmedical use, self-harm, unsupervised pediatric exposures). Most visits by children aged <4 years (74.0%, 95% CI, 59.7-88.3%) were for unsupervised CCM exposures. Proportion hospitalized was higher for visits for self-harm (76.5%, 95% CI, 68.9-84.2%) than for visits for nonmedical use (30.3%, 95% CI, 21.1-39.6%) and therapeutic use (8.8%, 95% CI, 5.9-11.8%). Overall, estimated population rates of ED visits for CCM-related harms were higher for patients aged 12-34 years (16.5 per 100 000, 95% CI, 13.0-20.0) compared with patients aged <12 years (5.1 per 100 000, 95% CI, 3.6-6.5) and >= 35 years (4.3 per 100 000, 95% CI, 3.4-5.1). Concurrent use of other medications, illicit drugs, or alcohol was frequent in ED visits for nonmedical use (61.3%) and self-harm (75.9%). Conclusions Continued national surveillance of CCM-related harms can assess progress toward safer use.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.2
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available