Emergency department visits by pediatric patients for poisoning by prescription opioids

Background: Prescription medication abuse is an increasingly recognized problem in the United States. As more opioids are being prescribed and abused by adults, there is an increased risk of both accidental and intentional exposure to children and adolescents. The impact of pediatric exposures to pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse 2016-09, Vol.42 (5), p.550-555
Main Authors: Tadros, Allison, Layman, Shelley M., Davis, Stephen M., Bozeman, Rachel, Davidov, Danielle M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
adolescent prescription opioids
Analgesics, Opioid - economics
Analgesics, Opioid - poisoning
Child
Child, Preschool
Emergency medical care
Emergency Service, Hospital - statistics & numerical data
Emergency visits
Female
Health Care Costs - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Male
Narcotics
Patients
Pediatrics
Poisoning
poisonings
Prescription drugs
Prescription Drugs - economics
Prescription Drugs - poisoning
Retrospective Studies
United States
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Summary:Background: Prescription medication abuse is an increasingly recognized problem in the United States. As more opioids are being prescribed and abused by adults, there is an increased risk of both accidental and intentional exposure to children and adolescents. The impact of pediatric exposures to prescription pain pills has not been well studied. Objectives: We sought to evaluate emergency department (ED) visits for poisoning by prescription opioids in pediatric patients. Methods: This retrospective study looked at clinical and demographic data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) from 2006 to 2012. Results: There were 21,928 pediatric ED visits for prescription opioid poisonings and more than half were unintentional. There was a bimodal age distribution of patients, with slightly more than half occurring in females. The majority of patients were discharged from the ED. More visits in the younger age group (0-5 years) were unintentional, while the majority of visits in the adolescent age group (15-17 years) were intentional. Mean charge per discharge was $1,840 and $14,235 for admissions and surmounted to over $81 million in total charges. Conclusion: Poisonings by prescription opioids largely impact both young children and adolescents. These findings can be used to help target this population for future preventive efforts.
ISSN:0095-2990
1097-9891
DOI:10.1080/00952990.2016.1194851