Table 2.

Factors contributing to adverse events due to opioids: N = 268.^*

FACTOR	N
Patient took more than prescribed	88
Prescribed dose was too high	48
Patient took alcohol or sedating drugs along with opioids	39
Patients did not contact the physician or pharmacist about symptoms	32
Patient or caregiver misunderstanding about dosing	24
Patient injected, crushed, or snorted the tablet	12
Loss of tolerance following a period of noncompliance	9
Physician, pharmacist, or nurse did not take into account that the patient was at high risk of overdose (eg, elderly)	8
Lack of communication between physician and pharmacist or nurse	6
Physician, pharmacist, or nurse involved did not recognize seriousness of symptoms	5
Patient refused to go to the emergency department	1
Dispensing error	1

^*Some physicians indicated more than 1 factor.