E.R. Visits Up for Prescription Drug Abuse

A new report indicates that abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs is increasing, while the abuse of illegal drugs remains about the same. According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), emergency room visits related to abuse of pharmaceuticals increased 21 percent from 2004 to 2005, while visits related to illicit drugs and alcohol remain unchanged during the same period.

While the total number of drug-related emergency room visits remained stabled between 2004 and 2005, visits involving the nonmedical use of prescription or over-the-counter drugs increased from 495,732 to 598,542.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration report, Anti-anxiety drugs (benzodiazepines, up 19 percent), prescription pain relievers (up 24 percent) and methadone (up 29 percent) were the most frequently abused pharmaceuticals.

"When people show up at emergency rooms as a result of drug misuse or abuse, it provides an opportunity that is too often missed to reach out with counseling or other options that could help prevent further consequences," said Terry Cline, PhD, SAMHSA Administrator, in a news release. "Our Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral and Treatment initiative is designed to take advantage of the opportunity in emergency department and other settings by preventing progression toward addiction."

Illicit Drugs Still a Problem

Other findings of the DAWN report include:

• Of the 1.4 million emergency room visits associated with drug misuse or abuse recorded by DAWN in 2005, 31 percent involved illicit drugs only and 27 percent involved pharmaceuticals only.

• An additional 36 percent involved combinations of illicit drugs, alcohol, and/or pharmaceuticals.

• Over half of all the drug-related visits during 2005 involved an illicit drug alone or in combination with another drug.

• Cocaine was the most frequently cited, with 448,481 visits; marijuana was involved in 242,200 visits; heroin, in 164,572 visits; and stimulants, such as amphetamines and methamphetamine, in 138,950 visits.

• About one-third of all drug-related visits involved alcohol in combination with another drug.

• Alcohol was most frequently combined with cocaine (86,482 visits), marijuana (33,643 visits), cocaine and marijuana (22,377 visits) and heroin (12,797).

A Nation of Pill Poppers

"We are in danger of becoming a nation of pill poppers," said John Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy. "The data released today put in stark relief the message we've been trying to get out in recent years: Prescription drugs can be lifesaving medicines when used properly, but their misuse can lead to addiction, suffering, and even death. The increase in the abuse of prescription drugs has been fueled worldwide by misperceptions of the potential harms of these powerful drugs, making it more critical than ever that we raise public awareness about the dangers of their misuse."

The full report, "Drug Abuse Warning Network, 2005: National Estimates of Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits," is available online.

Related Information:

• Drug Overdose Deaths Double in Five Years
  
• FDA Issues Health Advisory for Methadone
  
• A Prescription for Teen Danger

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