Accidental poisonings ...

on the rise among adults

8 tips to help prevent...
unintentional drug overdoses


By Kristen Gerencher, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The untimely death of actor Heath Ledger raises an important question for anyone taking multiple medications: Do you know what you're taking and how much?
It's not yet known what killed Ledger, 28, a star in the movie "Brokeback Mountain" who was found dead in his New York apartment on Jan. 22. But several prescription containers were discovered at the scene and medical examiners are running toxicology tests to determine the cause of his death.


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Americans have never had so many pharmaceutical options with which to treat a host of conditions and many reap the health benefits without incident. But a growing number unknowingly are mixing drugs that prove harmful when combined or deliberately using them for purposes they weren't intended, public-health experts say.
Accidental poisonings from prescription-drug use are on the rise, especially among middle-age adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"When most people think about poisonings, they tend to think of little kids. But the highest drug-poisoning rates are in people 45 to 54 years of age," said Dr. Len Paulozzi, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC Injury Center in Atlanta. Among unintentional poisoning deaths, 95% are due to drugs of all kinds -- both legal and illegal, he said.
The 45- to 54-year-old age group saw the largest increase -- a 25% jump -- in death rates caused by injury from 1999 to 2004, according to the CDC. Younger adults age 20 to 29 had an 8% rise in total injury death rates. Unintentional poisoning accounted for more than half of the increase in each group, and it was second only to car crashes as the cause of accidental deaths in 2004.
As people get older they typically take more medications to manage chronic health conditions, exposing them to more potential risks, said Janet P. Engle, professor of pharmacy practice at University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Pharmacy.
"We're seeing more and more problems with people mixing medications because they don't take the time to find out if they interact," she said. "Then sometimes they add alcohol, which can cause respiratory depression." That can be fatal. "You mix enough sedative-type drugs, whether they're over-the-counter or prescription, and alcohol and that's a recipe for disaster."
Calling on toxicology
Twenty years ago, people were more likely to overdose on just one drug, said Dr. Jeffrey Jentzen, a medical examiner in Milwaukee and president of the National Association of Medical Examiners. "But now the most common cause of death in our jurisdiction has to do with mixed prescription drug overdoses."
For example, a person may be on a painkiller such as hydrocodone or oxycodone and sleeping pills and possibly alcohol on top, he said. "They're taking multiple medications that in and of themselves wouldn't prove fatal but in combination do. That's typical around the country.
"People are using a combination of drugs when they shouldn't be, and they're using drugs for recreation," Jentzen said. "They're diverting prescription drugs for recreational drug use."
About 60% of medical examiners' autopsies involve toxicology investigations, double the amount from two decades ago, Jentzen estimated. "Twenty years ago we'd have to look for alcohol and one other drug and now we typically have to do five to seven drugs...find out not only that they're there but how much is present."
The misuse and abuse of prescription drugs has authorities concerned. The Office of National Drug Control Policy is launching a $14 million ad campaign targeted to parents of teenagers that kicked off during the Super Bowl. It's also partnering with 15,000 pharmacies nationwide to remind adults purchasing commonly abused prescription drugs to safeguard kids by securing their medicine cabinets. In 2006, about 2.1 million teens abused prescription drugs.
For lethal drug overdoses where the person's intentions aren't clear from the evidence, more medical examiners are starting to turn to genetic testing for answers, Jentzen said. "We're taking a closer look at those cases to make sure they're able to metabolize the drug."
The field of pharmacogenomics, as it's known, eventually may be used to explain why some individuals are more prone to harmful or fatal consequences of certain doses or drug combinations than others, he said. "It might open up a whole new area of the law and medicine of driving while impaired."
Tips to protect yourself
Among the steps you can take to prevent problems if ... More

Source: Market Watch
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