Nonmedical prescription drug use is a common cause of emergency department (ED) visits in the United States for medication-related harm, but data on effects of nonmedical use of pharmaceuticals are limited. Using nationally representative public health surveillance data to characterize US ED visits for harm caused by nonmedical prescription drug use, investigators at CDC and FDA report in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine that over half these visits are by young adults under 35, and over 40 percent of patients arrive unconscious or after cardiorespiratory failure. They include recommendations to guide prevention efforts.
* This article was originally published here
