Overuse of over-the-counter analgesics by emergency department patients

The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of over-the-counter analgesic overuse in a sample of emergency department (ED) patients.

We conducted a survey of a convenience sample of patients presenting to an urban, academic ED. Research associates questioned patients about the use of pain or cold medications containing ibuprofen, acetaminophen, naproxen, or aspirin. Patients who reported using medications with these ingredients in the 72 hours before their visit were asked about the specific medications, daily dose, and reason for medication use. The daily dose of these 4 analgesics was determined and classified as within or above the manufacturers' recommended over-the-counter dose range.

Three hundred seven of 546 (56%) surveyed patients had reported using a medication containing one of these ingredients. Thirty-seven patients (6.2%; 95% confidence interval 4.5% to 8.6%) reported exceeding the manufacturer's recommended daily dose at some point in the 3 days preceding their ED visit.

Although our study was limited by the use of a convenience sample, we found a potentially significant rate of patients who reported taking excessive doses of over-the-counter analgesics.