IMPORTANCE The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 brought attention to adverse drug events in national patient safety efforts. Updated, detailed, nationally representative data describing adverse drug events can help focus these efforts. OBJECTIVE To describe the characteristics of emergency department (ED) visits for adverse drug events in the United States in 2013-2014 and describe changes in ED visits for adverse drug events since 2005-2006. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Active, nationally representative, public health surveillance in 58 EDs located in the United States and participating in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System–Cooperative Adverse Drug Event Surveillance project. EXPOSURES Drugs implicated in ED visits. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES National weighted estimates of ED visits and subsequent hospitalizations for adverse drug events. RESULTS Based on data from 42 585 cases, an estimated 4.0 (95% CI, 3.1-5.0) ED visits for adverse drug events occurred per 1000 individuals annually in 2013 and 2014 and 27.3% (95% CI, 22.2%-32.4%) of ED visits for adverse drug events resulted in hospitalization. An estimated 34.5% (95% CI, 30.3%-38.8%) of ED visits for adverse drug events occurred among adults aged 65 years or older in 2013-2014 compared with an estimated 25.6% (95% CI, 21.1%-30.0%) in 2005-2006; older adults experienced the highest hospitalization rates (43.6%; 95% CI, 36.6%-50.5%). Anticoagulants, antibiotics, and diabetes agents were implicated in an estimated 46.9% (95% CI, 44.2%-49.7%) of ED visits for adverse drug events, which included clinically significant adverse events, such as hemorrhage (anticoagulants), moderate to severe allergic reactions (antibiotics), and hypoglycemia with moderate to severe neurological effects (diabetes agents). Since 2005-2006, the proportions of ED visits for adverse drug events from anticoagulants and diabetes agents have increased, whereas the proportion from antibiotics has decreased. Among children aged 5 years or younger, antibiotics were the most common drug class implicated (56.4%; 95% CI, 51.8-61.0%). Among children and adolescents aged 6 to 19 years, antibiotics also were the most common drug class implicated (31.8%; 95% CI, 28.7%-34.9%) in ED visits for adverse drug events, followed by antipsychotics (4.5%; 95% CI, 3.3-5.6%). Among older adults (aged ≥65 years), 3 drug classes (anticoagulants, diabetes agents, and opioid analgesics) were implicated in an estimated 59.9% (95% CI, 56.8%-62.9%) of ED visits for adverse drug events; 4 anticoagulants (warfarin, rivaroxaban, dabigatran, and enoxaparin) and 5 diabetes agents (insulin and 4 oral agents) were among the 15 most common drugs implicated. Medications to always avoid in older adults according to Beers criteria were implicated in 1.8% (95% CI, 1.5%-2.1%) of ED visits for adverse drug events. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The prevalence of emergency department visits for adverse drug events in the United States was estimated to be 4 per 1000 individuals in 2013 an...

Objectives Annually, tens of thousands of children are brought to emergency departments for unsupervised medicine ingestions. We assessed whether adding flow restrictors to liquid medicine bottles can provide additional protection against unsupervised medicine ingestions by young children, even when the child-resistant closure is not fully secured. Study Design From April – May 2012, we conducted a block randomized trial with a convenience sample of 110 3- and 4-year-old children from 5 local preschools. Participants attempted to remove test liquid from an uncapped bottle with a flow restrictor and a control bottle without a flow restrictor (with either no cap or an incompletely-closed cap). Results Ninety-six percent (25/26) of open controls and 82% of incompletely-closed control bottles (68/83) were emptied within 2 minutes. Only 6% (7/110) of bottles with flow restrictors were emptied during the 10-minute testing period, none before 6 minutes. Overall, children removed less liquid from bottles with flow restrictors than from open or incompletely-closed controls (both P < .001). All children assigned open controls and 90% assigned incompletely-closed controls removed ≥25 mL liquid. In contrast, 11% of children removed ≥25 mL liquid from uncapped bottles with flow restrictors. Older children (54 – 59 months) were more successful than younger children at removing ≥25 mL liquid (P = .002) from bottles with flow restrictors. Conclusions Findings suggest that adding flow restrictors to liquid medicine bottles limits the accessibility of their contents to young children and could complement the safety provided by current child-resistant packaging.

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