2023-12-25 05:15:16
Study finds dramatic increase in ADHD treatment errors in children, with the majority occurring at home and involving males aged 6 to 12. He calls for better education and medication management to mitigate these errors. Credit: Issues.fr.com
Experts call for patient and caregiver education and the development of improved child-resistant drug distribution and tracking systems.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders. In 2019, nearly 10% of children in the United States (US) were diagnosed with ADHD. About 3.3 million children, or about 5 in 100 children in the United States, are currently prescribed medication for ADHD.
Increase in ADHD medication errors
In a new study, published recently in the journal PediatricsResearchers from the Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital studied the characteristics and trends of out-of-hospital medication errors for ADHD in people younger than 20 years reported to U.S. poison control centers from 2000 to 2021 .
According to the study, the annual number of medication errors related to ADHD increased by 299% between 2000 and 2021. During the study period, 87,691 cases of medication errors involving ADHD medications as the primary substance in this age group have been reported to US poison control centers. producing an average of 3,985 individuals per year. In 2021 alone, 5,235 medication errors were reported, or one child every 100 minutes. The overall trend was dominated by males, accounting for 76% of medication errors, and the 6-12 age group, accounting for 67% of errors. About 93% of exposures took place at home.
Common Medication Error Scenarios
Among medication errors involving ADHD medications as the primary substance, the most common scenarios were:
- 54% – “Medicine taken/given twice inadvertently”
- 13% – “Inadvertently took/gave someone else’s medication”
- 13% – “Wrong medication taken/given”
“The increase in reported medication errors is consistent with findings from other studies reporting an increase in ADHD diagnosis among U.S. children over the past two decades, likely associated with an increase in use medication for ADHD. said Natalie Rine, PharmD, study co-author and director of the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Health impacts and prevention strategies
In 83% of cases, the person was not treated in a health establishment; however, 2.3% of cases resulted in admission to a health facility, including 0.8% to an intensive care unit. Additionally, 4.2% of cases were associated with a serious medical outcome. Some children experienced restlessness, tremors, seizures, and changes in their mental status. Children under 6 years of age were twice as likely to experience serious medical consequences and were more than three times as likely to be admitted to a health care facility than children 6 to 19 years of age.
“Because ADHD medication errors are preventable, greater attention should be given to patient and caregiver education and the development of improved child-safe medication distribution and tracking systems,” a said Gary Smith, MD, DrPH, lead author of the study and director of the Center. for injury research and policy at National Children’s Hospital. “Another strategy could be to move from pill bottles to single-unit packages, such as blister packs, which could help remember whether a medication has already been taken or administered. »
Although prevention efforts should focus on the home setting, special attention should be given to schools and other places where children and adolescents spend time and receive medications.
Data for this study were obtained from the National Poison Data System (NPDS), maintained by the American Poison Control Centers, formerly the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC). Poison Control Centers receive telephone calls through the National Poison Hotline (1-800-222-1222) and document information on the product, route of exposure, person exposed, exposure scenario and other data, which are reported to the NPDS.
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