Taking blood-thinners and diabetes drugs at higher-than-recommended doses or in error often leads to health complications that bring older adults to hospital emergency rooms, suggests a study published in JAMA.
A group of researchers conducted a study to describe the characteristics of emergency department (ED) visits for acute harms from both therapeutic and nontherapeutic medication use in the US. Active, nationally representative, public health surveillance based on patient visits to 60 EDs in the US participating in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System–Cooperative Adverse Drug Event Surveillance Project from 2017 through 2019.
Medications implicated in ED visits, with visits attributed to medication harms (adverse events) based on the clinicians' diagnoses and supporting data documented in the medical record. Nationally weighted estimates of ED visits and subsequent hospitalizations for medication harms.
The results of the study are as follows:
Based on 96 925 cases, there were an estimated 6.1 ED visits for medication harms per 1000 population annually and 38.6% resulted in hospitalization. Population rates of ED visits for medication harms were higher for patients aged 65 years or older than for those younger than 65 years
Overall, an estimated 69.1% of ED visits for medication harm involved therapeutic medication use, but among patients younger than 45 years, an estimated 52.5% of visits for medication harms involved nontherapeutic use. The proportions of ED visits for medication harms involving therapeutic use were lowest for barbiturates (6.3%), benzodiazepines (11.1%), nonopioid analgesics (15.7%), and antihistamines (21.8%). By age group, the most frequent medication types and intents of use associated with ED visits for medication harms were therapeutic use of anticoagulants and diabetes agents for patients aged 65 years and older; therapeutic use of diabetes agents for patients aged 45 to 64 years; nontherapeutic use of benzodiazepines for patients aged 25 to 44 years; and unsupervised medication exposures and therapeutic use of antibiotics for children younger than 5 years.
Therefore, the researchers concluded that according to data from 60 nationally representative US emergency departments, visits attributed to medication harms in 2017-2019 were frequent, with variation in products and intent of use by age.
Reference:
US Emergency Department Visits Attributed to Medication Harms, 2017-2019 by Daniel S. Budnitz et al. published in the JAMA.
doi:10.1001/jama.2021.13844