@article{ref1,
title="US emergency department visits for acute harms from over-the-counter cough and cold medications, 2017-2019",
journal="Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety",
year="2021",
author="Mital, Rohan and Lovegrove, Maribeth C. and Moro, Ruth N. and Geller, Andrew I. and Weidle, Nina J. and Lind, Jennifer N. and Budnitz, Daniel S.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="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. <br><br>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 2017-2019. <br><br>RESULTS: Based on 1,396 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%). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Continued national surveillance of CCM-related harms can assess progress toward safer use.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1053-8569",
doi="10.1002/pds.5384",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pds.5384"
}