Emergency Department Trends From the Drug Abuse Warning Network: Preliminary Estimates January-June 2001 With Revised Estimates 1994-2000

• NCJ Number: 196590
• Author(s): Judy Ball; Wendy Kissin; Tracy Garfield
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 740 pages
• Contract Number(s): 283-98-9010; 282-98-0003
• Sponsoring Agency: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin (SAMHSA)
• Corporate Author: Westat; Johnson, Bassin, and Shaw, (JBS) Inc
• Sale Source: SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report presents data on hospital emergency department (ED) visits induced by or related to substance abuse.

Abstract

Data were obtained from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), which relies on a sample of hospitals that operate 24-hour emergency departments. The data presented in this report are preliminary estimates for January to June 2001, accompanied by comparisons with the same months for 2000. Over this period, DAWN estimates that there were 308,368 drug-related ED episodes in the coterminous United States, with 559,334 drug mentions. Both ED drug episodes and ED drug mentions were statistically unchanged when compared with the first half of 2000 and the first half of 2001. Adjusting for population differences, the highest rates of ED drug episodes in 2000 were apparent in Seattle, Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. From 1999 to 2000, there were significant increases in ED mentions of heroin, amphetamines, and methamphetamine; and mentions of alcohol-in-combination, cocaine, and marijuana were unchanged. The majority of drug-related ED episodes involved more than one drug. In 2000 nearly half of the episodes that involved heroin involved only heroin; however, only 28 percent of the episodes that involved cocaine involved cocaine alone. In drug-related ED episodes during 2000, dependence and suicide were the most often cited motives for taking substances. By far, the most common reason for ED contact cited in drug-related ED episodes in 2000 was overdose. Approximately half of the drug-related ED episodes in 2000 resulted in admission to the hospital. Data are provided for each of 21 metropolitan areas, and trends are noted by patient demographics and episode characteristics. Extensive tabular and graphic data and appended impact of changes in the DAWN drug vocabulary, revisions to estimates for 1994 to 2000, race and ethnicity data, detailed description of DAWN, sources of error in DAWN estimates, and glossary of terms