@article{ref1,
title="Suicide-related over-the-counter analgesic exposures reported to United States poison control centers, 2000-2018",
journal="Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety",
year="2020",
author="Hopkins, Alexandra G. and Spiller, Henry A. and Kistamgari, Sandhya and Zhu, Motao and Michaels, Nichole L. and Funk, Alexandra R. and Smith, Gary A.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="PURPOSE: To investigate suicide-related over-the-counter (OTC) analgesic medication exposures among individuals ≥6 years old reported to United States (US) poison control centers.   METHODS: Data from the National Poison Data System for the years 2000-2018 were retrospectively analyzed.   RESULTS: From 2000 to 2018, US poison control centers recorded 549 807 suicide-related cases involving OTC analgesics, including 327 781 cases (59.6%) admitted to the hospital and 1745 deaths (0.3%). Most cases involved a single substance (67.5%) and occurred among females (72.7%) and individuals 6-19 years old (49.7%). Overall, the rate of exposures increased significantly by 33.5% from 2000 to 2018, primarily driven by the increasing exposure rate among 6- to 19-year-old females. From 2000 to 2018, exposure rates for acetaminophen and ibuprofen increased, while that for acetylsalicylic acid decreased. Additionally, the proportion of cases resulting in a serious medical outcome or healthcare facility admission increased for all types of OTC analgesics. Acetaminophen and acetylsalicylic acid accounted for 48.0% and 18.5% of cases, respectively, and 64.5% and 32.6% of deaths, respectively. Both acetaminophen and acetylsalicylic acid had greater odds of healthcare facility admission (ORs 2.56 and 2.63, respectively) and serious medical outcomes (ORs 2.54 and 4.90, respectively) compared with ibuprofen.   CONCLUSIONS: The rate of suicide-related OTC analgesic cases is increasing. Acetaminophen and acetylsalicylic acid cases are associated with greater morbidity and mortality. Prevention efforts should include implementing unit-dose packaging requirements and restrictions on package sizes and purchase quantities for acetaminophen and acetylsalicylic acid products to reduce access to large quantities of these analgesics.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1053-8569",
doi="10.1002/pds.4997",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pds.4997"
}