Pediatric Prescription-Opioid Overdose Visits to ED Increased in 2020

THURSDAY, April 18, 2024 (HealthDay News) — There was a substantial increase in pediatric prescription-opioid overdose emergency department visits from 2019 to 2020 in the United States, according to a study published online April 17 in PLOS ONE.

Audrey Lu, from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and colleagues examined trends in pediatric (ages 0 to 17 years) prescription-opioid overdose emergency department visits. The analysis included data from the U.S. Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (2008 to 2020).

The researchers found that prescription-opioid overdose emergency department visits decreased by 22 percent from 2008 to 2019 and then increased by 12 percent in 2020. While most patients were discharged to home following their emergency department visit, there was a 42 percent increase in pediatric patients admitted from 2019 to 2020. The prescription-opioid overdose rate was highest in the 0- to 1-year-old and 12- to 17-year-old age groups, with the 12- to 17-year-old age group increasing by 27 percent in 2020. From 2019 to 2020, prescription-opioid emergency department visits in the West and Midwest increased by 58 and 20 percent, respectively.

“Future studies could investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the opioid epidemic once nationwide data on opioid overdose is made available for later years of the pandemic,” the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text