Inj Prev

Background:Medication poisoning is a common form of self-harm injury, and increases in injuries due to self-harm, including suicide attempts, have been reported over the last two decades.Methods:Cross-sectional (2016\u20132019) data from sixty emergency departments (EDs) participating in an active, nationally-representative public health surveillance system were analyzed and United States national estimates of ED visits for medication-related self-harm injuries were calculated.Results:Based on 18,074 surveillance cases, there were an estimated 269,198 (95% confidence interval [CI], 222,059\u2013316,337) ED visits for medication-related self-harm injuries annually in 2016\u20132019 compared with 1,404,090 visits annually from therapeutic use of medications. Population rates of medication-related self-harm ED visits were highest among persons aged 11\u201319 years (58.5 [95% CI, 45.0\u201372.0] per 10,000), and lowest among those aged 6565 years (6.6 [95% CI, 4.4\u20138.8] per 10,000). Among persons aged 11\u201319 years, the ED visit rate for females was four times that for males (95.4 [95% CI, 74.2\u2013116.7] versus 23.0 [95% CI, 16.4\u201329.6] per 10,000). Medical or psychiatric admission was required for three-quarters (75.1%; 95% CI, 70.0%-80.2%) of visits. Concurrent use of alcohol or illicit substances was documented in 40.2% (95% CI, 36.8%-43.7%) of visits, and multiple medication products were implicated in 38.6% (95% CI, 36.8%-40.4%). The most frequently implicated medication categories varied by patient age.Conclusions:Medication-related self-harm injuries are an important contributor to the overall burden of ED visits and hospitalizations for medication-related harm, with the highest rates among adolescent and young adult females. These findings support continued prevention efforts targeting patients at risk for self-harm.CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States