Share

Nonprescription medication abuse underestimated

Nonprescription medications are just as likely a cause of poisoning as prescription drugs, according to a new study by Timothy Wiegand, MD from the University of Rochester Medical Center in the US and colleagues.

Their work, which analyses the data from the second annual report of the Toxicology Investigators Consortium (ToxIC), is published online in Springer's Journal of Medical Toxicology.

In 2010, the American College of Medical Toxicology established its case registry, ToxIC, which acts as a real-time surveillance system to identify current poisoning trends, and is a powerful research tool in medical toxicology. All cases evaluated by medical toxicologists at participating institutions in the US are entered into the database. Wiegand and colleagues analysed the 2011 data from 28 participating centers.

They found that of the 10 392 cases entered into the registry, 53% involved patients in emergency departments. The most common reason for consultation with a toxicologist was for pharmaceutical overdoses, which occurred in 48% of patients - a combination of intentional overdoses in 37% of patients and unintentional in 11% of patients.

Mixing different drugs

Sleeping pills, muscle relaxants, non-opioid pain relievers (such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen), opioid pain relievers and antidepressants were the most common medications accounting for the consultation.

In addition, there were 35 deaths from medication overdose in 2011, ten of which were attributed to opioids and eight to non-opioid pain relievers. The researchers also observed that cases involving designer drugs, such as psychoactive “bath salts” and synthetic cannabinoids, increased substantially from 2010 to 2011.

Dr Wiegand concludes: "Much of the current concerns about prescription medication abuse have centered on opioids, and while opioids are certainly of greater concern in regard to morbidity and mortality related to overdose, the data reported here suggest that emphasis should also be placed on sleeping pills.

Our data also suggest that while medication abuse is a major problem, restricting our concerns to prescription drug abuse fails to acknowledge the major contribution of nonprescription agents to healthcare resource utilisation."

(EurekAlert, October 2012)

Read more: 

Medication: why it is dangerous to do things your way?

Sleeping pills may cause cancer

12 dangerous home remedies

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE