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Old September 28th 06, 03:30 AM posted to misc.health.alternative,alt.support.attn-deficit,misc.kids.health
Jan Drew
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Posts: 2,707
Default Emergency Department Visits Involving ADHD Stimulant Medications


"Jeff" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Jan Drew" wrote in message
m...

"Rich" wrote in message
...

"Jan Drew" wrote in message
m...
There is nothing worse than aggressive stupidity. Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe



Nothing is more dangerous than active ignorance. -- Goethe
Posted in 2002 by me.

Excerpts:

Emergency Department Visits Involving ADHD Stimulant Medications

a.. An estimated 7,873 drug-related emergency department (ED)
visits involved methylphenidate or amphetamine-dextroamphetamine, two
medications used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD).

Considering the number of people who are prescribed these medications,
this is a rather low rate. The ER visits for acetaminophen, narcotic
analgesics, and even iron supplements are all much higher.


b.. The most frequent reason for these visits was nonmedical use
(48%), followed by adverse reactions associated with medical use (34%),
accidental ingestion (10%), and suicide attempts (8%).

Bear in mind that the "adverse reactions" are almost all transient
tachycardia which carries very little threat of injury or death in the
young population that is likely to be taking prescribed amphetamines.


c.. The rates of ED visits involving methylphenidate or
amphetamine-dextroamphetamine for patients aged 12 to 17 were higher
than the rates for patients aged 18 or older.

Well, duh. First, there are more 12-17 year-olds prescribed the
medications than those 18+. Second, a 12-17yo feeling ill is likely to
be taken to the ER by parents. An 18+ having an adverse reaction,
especially if he is using diverted drugs, or abusing his own, is more
likely to wait for the effects to subside.


If there drugs were so not easy to get, 18 year olds couldn't get them.
This is the fault of doctors.


It is not the fault of doctors that patients abuse drugs.


If there drugs were so not easy to get, 18 year olds couldn't get them.
This is the fault of doctors.

What part of that do you not understand?





d.. Over two thirds (68%) of the visits involving nonmedical use
of these two drugs also involved another substance, such as alcohol, an
illicit drug, or pharmaceutical.

Yes, people who abuse drugs often abuse more than one drug.





Recent studies have indicated that as many as 7 percent of children and
4 percent of adults now meet the criteria for a diagnosis of
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).1,2,3 As a result, more
prescriptions are being written for the stimulants used to treat ADHD.
More prescriptions will likely lead to increases in medical side
effects associated with the use of these medications and, potentially,
greater use of these drugs for nonmedical purposes as well.

True, but for every new abuser there are likely to be many more who are
enabled to lead productive lives with the help of the medication. It's a
good trade-off.


In your opinion. The fact is they are given to very young kids. Which is
insane.


Really?


Yes, really .

It is a fact that you knew already.

It is insane to enable kids to pay attention and do well in school?

That's debatabe, It was shown that they actually did worst on tests.

I was called a liar by your buddy, Mark Probert and others--when I posted
that
years ago. Now it is well proven
I was correct and not a liar.


In your opinion.


Nope. A proven fact (and you knew that also).



4 A recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel recognized
the danger of side effects for ADHD stimulants and recommended that
they carry a warning of an increased potential for cardiac problems,
such as hypertension, cardiac arrests, and stroke.

Yes, those things can happen, but they very seldom do in the younger
population.


But, but,, but--Richey. Face the facts.


Provide us with evidence that they happen often.

Jeff


Rich needs to face facts. Jeff--notkidsdoc--Jeffrey Peter, M.D--Jeff P.
Utz, MD.

5 The possibility of medical problems may be exacerbated by using ADHD
stimulant medications improperly or in combination with other drugs.

The potential for greater access of these medications to persons
without a prescription is supported by research, which has shown that
peers are a common source of ADHD medications.6 Although the potential
for diversion has increased, estimates from the 2003 National Survey on
Drug Abuse and Health (NSDUH) indicate that nonmedical use of ADHD
stimulant medications is still relatively low: 0.3 percent of the
population aged 12 or older reported using such stimulants nonmedically
during the past year. However, those aged 18 to 25 had a higher rate of
nonmedical use than those who were younger or older.7 College students,
who may use these drugs as study aids because of their stimulant
properties, fall primarily in this 18-to-25 age group.

Amphetamines were a serious drug abuse problem in the '60's and '70's
when they were massively prescribed as "diet pills" and were available
under the counter at every truck stop. They are becoming a big problem
again now, but in the form of illegal methamphetamines ("ice" here in
Hawaii), not Ritalin or Adderal.


Is that right? Got any proof?

The prescription-drug component of the amphetamine abuse problem
is a negligible fraction. And don't give me any bull**** about the
ice-heads "starting out" on prescription drugs unless you have some
solid evidence that the rate of occurance of that is significant.


I love it *solid*. I that anything like--*Substantial* *real*
*convincing* *hard* *clear-cut* *reasonable*
*significant* *credibile* *compelling* *copious* *direct* *reliable*
*adequate* Used by your gang group.




The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), which collects data from a
national sample of short-term, general, non-Federal hospitals,8
provides estimates of drug-related emergency department (ED) visits.
The findings presented in this issue of The DAWN Report are based on ED
visits related to two of the pharmaceuticals commonly used to treat
ADHD-methylphenidate and amphetamine-dextroamphetamine. DAWN includes
both generic and branded drugs, including methylphenidate marketed as
Ritalinİ and Concertaİ and amphetamine-dextroamphetamine marketed as
Adderalİ. Based on DAWN data, this report examines the reasons for the
ED visits and the relative frequency of these ED visits for different
age groups. Finally, for the ED visits involving nonmedical use, DAWN
provides the ability to examine the drugs used along with the ADHD
drugs. DAWN, which observes drug-related morbidity in ED visits, offers
a different view of drug use than the NSDUH, which measures prevalence
of nonmedical use in the population at large.

Overview

In 2004, about 106 million ED visits occurred in short-term, general,
non-Federal hospitals in the United States.9 DAWN estimates that about
2 million ED visits in 2004 were drug related, and the ADHD drugs
examined in this report were implicated in about 1 percent of those
drug-related visits. Methylphenidate was involved in an estimated 3,601
ED visits, and amphetamine-dextroamphetamine was involved in an
estimated 4,272 ED visits.

Table 1. Estimated ED visits, by reason for ED visit and drug Reason
for visit Methylphenidate Amphetamine-
dextroamphetamine Total
ED visits % of visits ED visits % of visits ED visits % of visits
Totala 3,601 100% 4,272 100% 7,873 100%
Nonmedical use 1,541 43% 2,228 52% 3,769 48%
Adverse reaction (medical use) 1,322 37% 1,320 31% 2,642 34%
Accidental ingestion 390 11% 435 10% 825 10%
Suicide attempt 348 10% 289 7% 637 8%

All in all, this article is interesting, but is not so scary as it is
intended to be.


Oh, dear--now you are in big trouble. Some on a.s.a.d. think DAWN is
very reliable.
--


--Rich