ADHD Drugs Result in Emergency Visits

May 2006

Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided that drugs used to treat attention deficit disorder (ADHD) did not need to carry a “black-box” warning. But according to the first national estimates on ADHD drugs, thousands of children and adults are sent to emergency rooms for accidental overdoses and side effects.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CPSC) conducted a study using a new hospital surveillance network to help give a clearer idea of the drugs’ side effects.

From August 2003 to December 2005 the study found:

• Problems with the drugs sent 188 people to 64 hospitals in the network.
• ADHD drugs were linked to 73 patients with side effects or allergic reactions.
• 115 patients accidentally swallowed the pills.
• One in five patients were admitted to the hospital.
• One in five had to have their stomachs pumped or be treated with medicine.
• 16% involved interaction with another drug.

Around 3.3 million people 19 and younger and 1.5 million ages 20 and older take ADHD medicines, such as Ritalin, Concerta and Adderall. The FDA has received 25 deaths linked to the drugs, 19 involving children from 1999 through 2003.