7,000 pediatric ER visits linked to cough, cold medication use

An estimated 7,000 patients, ages 11 and younger, are treated in hospital emergency departments (ED) each year largely from unsupervised ingestions of cough and cold medications.

In the new study, “Adverse Events from Cough and Cold Medications in Children,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers reviewed ED visits from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System - Cooperative Adverse Drug Event Surveillance (NEISS-CADES) project between Jan. 1, 2004, and Dec. 31, 2005.

In children <12 years old, an estimated 5.7 percent of medication-related ED visits were due to cough and cold-medications.

Most of these visits were in children age 2 to 5 (64 percent), and unsupervised ingestions accounted for 80% of ED visits in this age group.

Among all children 11 and younger, unsupervised ingestions of cough and cold products accounted for 66 percent of ingestion-related ED visits, which was significantly higher than ED visits for unsupervised ingestions of other medications.

Ninety-three percent of the children did not require hospital admission; however, one-fourth received treatment to prevent further absorption of the medications.

The study authors recommend that the data be used to improve product packaging and parent education to prevent adverse events from cough and cold medication among children.