Table 1.
ED Visits Due to Nonmedical Use of Pharmaceuticals, 2016a
| Case characteristics | Nonmedical use of pharmaceuticalsb | Therapeutic use of pharmaceuticalsc | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases | Annual national estimate | Cases | Annual national estimate | |||
| n | n | % (95% CI) | n | n | % (95% CI) | |
| Age, yearsd | ||||||
| <15 | 159 | 7,333 | 2.0 (1.1, 3.0) | 2,754 | 109,960 | 7.5 (5.6, 9.3) |
| 5–24 | 1,208 | 81,928 | 22.9 (19.5, 26.2) | 1,614 | 109,099 | 7.4 (6.0, 8.8) |
| 25–34 | 1,305 | 93,179 | 26.0 (23.2, 28.8) | 1,765 | 131,658 | 8.9 (7.6, 10.2) |
| 35–44 | 852 | 61,437 | 17.1 (15.3, 19.0) | 1,720 | 129,988 | 8.8 (7.7, 9.9) |
| 45–54 | 790 | 54,905 | 15.3 (13.1, 17.5) | 2,500 | 178,225 | 12.1 (10.6, 13.5) |
| 55–64 | 587 | 42,161 | 11.8 (10.0, 13.6) | 3,119 | 226,195 | 15.3 (14.4, 16.2) |
| 65–74 | 186 | 13,455 | 3.8 (2.9, 4.6) | 3,287 | 252,805 | 17.1 (14.7, 19.6) |
| >74 | 43 | 3,848e | 1.1 (0.4, 1.7) | 4,458 | 336,626 | 22.8 (19.1, 26.6) |
| Sex | ||||||
| Female | 2,195 | 158,673 | 44.3 (41.9, 46.7) | 11,751 | 821,106 | 55.7 (53.1, 58.3) |
| Male | 2,935 | 199,574 | 55.7 (53.3, 58.1) | 9,466 | 653,450 | 44.3 (41.7, 46.9) |
| Discharge dispositionf | ||||||
| Hospitalized | 2,085 | 147,091 | 41.1 (32.3, 49.8) | 6,480 | 401,231 | 27.2 (21.6, 32.8) |
| Not hospitalized | 3,045 | 211,156 | 58.9 (50.2, 67.7) | 14,737 | 1,073,325 | 72.8 (67.2, 78.4) |
| Number of implicated pharmaceuticals | ||||||
| 1 | 3,689 | 258,343 | 72.1 (69.2, 75.0) | 18,136 | 1,274,211 | 86.4 (84.7, 88.2) |
| 2 | 1,033 | 68,784 | 19.2 (16.7, 21.7) | 2,380 | 158,326 | 10.7 (9.1, 12.3) |
| 3 | 296 | 22,215 | 6.2 (5.3, 7.1) | 469 | 29,528 | 2.0 (1.7, 2.3) |
| 4 or more | 112 | 8,905 | 2.5 (1.8, 3.1) | 232 | 12,491 | 0.8 (0.6, 1.1) |
| Additional substances documented | ||||||
| Any substance | 2,736 | 189,465 | 52.9 (49.7, 56.1) | 350 | 23,174 | 1.6 (1.1, 2.0) |
| Alcohol | 1,143 | 78,227 | 21.8 (19.8, 23.9) | 235 | 15,280 | 1.0 (0.7, 1.3) |
| Illicit substances | 1,784 | 122,033 | 34.1 (30.9, 37.2) | 133 | 8,896 | 0.6 (0.4, 0.8) |
| Marijuana | 882 | 63,306 | 17.7 (15.1, 20.3) | 83 | 6,463 | 0.4 (0.3, 0.6) |
| Cocaine | 632 | 37,451 | 10.5 (7.8, 13.1) | 47 | 2,174 | 0.1 (0.1, 0.2) |
| Heroin | 413 | 28,285 | 7.9 (5.5, 10.3) | 7 | ~ | ~ |
| Methamphetamines | 215 | 17,955 | 5.0 (2.9, 7.2) | 8 | ~ | ~ |
| Other illicit substancesg | 208 | 11,119 | 3.1 (2.1, 4.1) | 5 | ~ | ~ |
| Unspecified drugsh | 513 | 38,083 | 10.6 (8.5, 12.7) | 0 | ~ | ~ |
| No additional substances | 2,394 | 168,782 | 47.1 (43.9, 50.3) | 20,867 | 1,451,382 | 98.4 (98.0, 98.9) |
| Total | 5,130 | 358,247 | 100 (N/A) | 21,217 | 1,474,556 | 100 (N/A) |
Case counts and estimates are from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System–Cooperative Adverse Drug Event Surveillance project, CDC. Estimates based on <20 cases or total estimates <1,200 are considered statistically unstable and are not shown (~). Includes prescription and over-the-counter medications, dietary supplements, homeopathic products, and vaccines.
Includes pharmaceutical abuse, therapeutic misuse, and overdoses without indication of intent.
Includes therapeutic adverse drug events (e.g., adverse effects, allergic reactions, medication errors).
Missing for 5 cases of nonmedical use, and 1 case of therapeutic use.
Coefficient of variation >30%.
Hospitalized includes inpatient admissions, observation admissions, and transfers to other hospitals. Not hospitalized includes treated-and-released and left against medical advice/without being seen.
Includes illicit fentanyl, LSD, MDMA, phencyclidine, and other illicit drugs.
Includes unspecified opioids and unspecified amphetamines. For these visits, there was not enough information to determine if the opioid was a prescription product or illicit substance (e.g., heroin) or if the amphetamine was a prescription amphetamine or illicit methamphetamine.
ED, emergency department; N/A, not applicable.