Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits Involving Pharmaceutical Misuse or Abuse by Older Americans: 2009.

摘要

A previously published The DAWN Report showed that emergency department (ED) visits involving pharmaceutical misuse or abuse among adults aged 50 or older (hereafter referred to as older adults) increased from 2004 to 2008. As the baby boom generation ages in the United States, the health care and substance abuse treatment systems must prepare for an increase in the number of older adults who have substance use disorders and related health problems. In particular, older patients with chronic health conditions or multiple drug regimens may require urgent care in an ED and further monitoring in a hospital setting if they also misuse or abuse pharmaceuticals. This report highlights new findings and provides updated statistics for ED visits involving pharmaceutical misuse or abuse among older adults. The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) is a public health surveillance system that monitors drug-related ED visits in the United States. To be a DAWN case, an ED visit must have involved a drug, either as the direct cause of the visit or as a contributing factor. This report describes visits involving the misuse or abuse of pharmaceuticals, encompassing prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and supplements, by older adults. Trends between 2004 and 2009 are described, as well as selected characteristics of such visits in 2009.