• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Many Uninsured Overuse Pain Medication

Posted on: Wednesday, 16 August 2006, 15:00 CDT

Many who do not have access to healthcare overuse over-the-counter pain medications such as acetaminophen because of pain, finds a U.S. study.

Pain is the most common complaint among patients seeking care in an emergency department, said study author Dr. Kennon Heard, of the University of Colorado at Denver. Because many emergency patients have limited access to healthcare, they may have no alternatives to over-the-counter medications for treatment of pain.

Overuse of medications can lead to peptic ulcer, gastritis and liver injury.

The study surveyed 546 patients, 307 of whom reported using a pain or cold medication containing ibuprofen, acetaminophen, naproxen or aspirin in the 72 hours before coming to the emergency department.

Six percent reported exceeding the manufacturer's recommended daily dose at some point in the three days preceding their visit.

Additional study is needed to determine whether overuse occurs because patients disregard the risks or whether patients know the appropriate doses and overuse the medications anyway, according to Heard.

The findings are published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Source: United Press International

More News in this Category