Drug Abuse Warning Network, 2005:National Estimates of Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits

The Drug Abuse Early Warning Network (DAWN) relies on a national sample of general, non-Federal hospitals operating 24-hour emergency departments (ED). The sample is national in scope, with oversampling of hospitals in selected metropolitan areas. Estimates for 2005 are based on data submitted by 355 hospitals. In each participating hospital, ED medical records are reviewed retrospectively to find the ED visits that were related to recent drug use. All types of illegal drugs, prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, and non-pharmaceutical inhalants are included. Alcohol, when it is the only drug implicated in a visit, is included for patients younger than age 21; alcohol, when it is present in combination with another drug, is included for patients of all ages.

The 2005 estimates from DAWN provide the first opportunity since the redesign of DAWN to examine changes over time in drug-related ED visits. Thus, this publication also presents comparisons of estimates from 2004 and 2005. However, with only two years estimates to compare, the researchers urge caution in interpreting these as trends. No comparisons with prior years are possible, because of the redesign.