ED Visits for Underage Drinkers

SAMHSA's Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) reports this month on ED use by underage drinkers.

SAMHSA Releases New Data on Drug-related Hospital Emergency Department Visits (12/5/08)

The latest Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) report - drawn from a sample of hospital emergency departments across the Nation - indicates that more than 1.7 million visits for treatment were associated with some form of substance misuse or abuse. The 2006 DAWN report, developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), provides the latest estimates on how substance use affects this critical part of the Nation's healthcare system.

Click on the link for more information about the DAWN report

Key findings:

According to the Drug Abuse Warning
Network (DAWN):

• During 2004, an estimated 142,701 alcohol-related emergency department (ED) visits were made by patients aged 12 to 20.
  
• Nearly half (42%) of drug-related ED visits among patients aged 12 to 20 involved alcohol.
  
• Patients aged 18 to 20 were approximately 3 times as likely as patients aged 12 to 17 to have an alcohol-related ED visit.
  
• Visits involving alcohol with other drugs were almost 2 times as likely as visits involving only alcohol to result in admission to the hospital for inpatient care (19% vs. 10%).