Medication-Related Emergency Department Visits

Eight percent of all visits to a Canadian pediatric emergency department were medication-related; of these, 65% were preventable.

Data are lacking regarding the frequency and characteristics of medication-related visits to emergency departments (EDs) by children. To fill this knowledge gap, investigators prospectively evaluated 2028 children (mean age, 6.1 years) presenting to a Canadian pediatric ED during a 1-year period. Visits were considered preventable, as judged by the treating ED physician and a pharmacist research assistant, if the chief complaint was directly related to a medication and treatment was inconsistent with current best practice.

Results were as follows:

Of all ED visits, 164 (8%) were medication-related visits, of which 106 (65%) were judged preventable.
The most common medication-related visits were from adverse drug events (26%), subtherapeutic do…

Reviewing Author

Katherine Bakes, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesEmergency Medicine Secrets (Elsevier)

Grant/Research SupportDepartment of Justice

Editorial BoardsEmergency Medicine Secrets (Elsevier); Rosen’s Emergency Medicine (Elsevier)

Katherine Bakes, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesEmergency Medicine Secrets (Elsevier)

Grant/Research SupportDepartment of Justice

Editorial BoardsEmergency Medicine Secrets (Elsevier); Rosen’s Emergency Medicine (Elsevier)

Medication-Related Emergency Department Visits

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Reviewing Author