US Emergency Department Visits Attributed to Medication Harms, 2017-2019

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Pharmacovigilance
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Assessing acute medication harms requires considering both therapeutic and nontherapeutic medication use.
• Emergency department (ED) visits represent a critical data source for understanding medication-related harms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the scope and nature of emergency department visits for acute medication harms in the United States.
• To differentiate between harms arising from therapeutic versus nontherapeutic medication use across different age groups.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-Cooperative Adverse Drug Event Surveillance Project (NEISS-CADES) from 2017-2019.
• Analyzed patient visits to 60 nationally representative emergency departments.
• Calculated nationally weighted estimates of ED visits and hospitalizations for medication harms.

Main Results:

• An estimated 6.1 million ED visits for medication harms occurred annually, with 38.6% resulting in hospitalization.
• Older adults (≥65 years) had higher rates of ED visits for medication harms compared to younger populations.
• While therapeutic use predominated overall (69.1%), nontherapeutic use was common in younger patients (<45 years, 52.5%), particularly with benzodiazepines.

Conclusions:

• Medication harms are a significant cause of emergency department visits in the US, with patterns varying by patient age and intent of medication use.
• Findings highlight the need for targeted prevention strategies addressing both adverse drug events and misuse/abuse across the lifespan.