Overmedication
Overmedication describes the excessive use of over-the-counter or precription medicines for a person. Overmedication can have harmful effects, such as non-adherence or interactions with multiple prescription drugs.
Over-the-counter (OTC) medication overuse
Over-the-counter medications are generally first line therapies that people may choose to treat a common acute illness, such as fevers, colds, allergies, headache or other pain. Many of these medications can be bought in retail pharmacies or groceries stores without a prescription. OTC medication overuse is most prevalent in adolescents and young adults.[1] OTC medication overuse is common due to the relatively low cost, widespread availability, low perceived dangers, and internet culture associated with OTC medications.[2] It is also important to note that many OTC medication come in combination formulations that contain multiple drugs and are often used with other substances which complicate treatment for these type of overdoses.
Acetaminophen
Overuse of acetaminophen is the leading cause of liver failure in the Western world.[3] The maximum daily limit of acetaminophen is 4 grams per day for someone with a healthy liver. It is also highly recommended to go over the maximum daily limit. Exceeding the maximum daily limit could involve severe liver toxicity, liver failure, kidney failure, or even death.[4] People who have poor liver function or with chronic alcohol use disorder should either limit or not ingest acetaminophen to prevent morbidities.[5]
Codeine
Codeine is an opioid and shares similarities to other opioid overuse. There are many OTC medications for cough have formulations that contain codeine that people may seek to the overuse. The common effects that codeine give miosis, respiratory depression, CNS depression, and decreased bowel motility. Opioid deaths are more related to the super potent opioids such as fentanyl or for naive opioid users.[6] Despite death, dependence is another issue that is related to overuse for codeine. Tolerance can build up and causing users to seek out more of the opioid leading to dependence especially with chronic use of codeine.[1]
Dextromethorphan
Dextromethorphan, also shortened to DXM, affects the NMDA receptor and serotonin receptors which is believed to give its psychoactive effects at high doses.
Diphenhydramine
Pseudoephedrine
Special populations
Elderly
A report in 2018 by Human Rights Watch, found that every week in American nursing homes, around 180,000 residents are given antipsychotic drugs who do not have the diagnosis for which the drugs are approved. Most of these people have behavioral issues or some form of dementia. The drugs are often administered without informed consent. The reason these drugs are administered is for the sedative effect, which makes the people docile and easier to manage.[7]
Polypharmacy is defined as the use of multiple prescriptions medications, and most commonly seen in elderly people. [8] Elderly people have multiple medications to manage their chronic diseases placing them at higher risk for overmedication and adverse reactions.
Children
The overmedication of children has dramatically risen with those between the ages of 2 and 5 years old who are being prescribed atypical antipsychotics for bipolar disorders, developmental disabilities, ADHD, and behavior disorders.[9] Drug companies have benefited considerably with profits made in sales for drugs such as stimulants for hyperactive children, with half a million children in the United States receiving medication.[10][obsolete source] Children have become more involved with technology resulting in less play time outside and less time spent with parents. The long hours children spend with technology has impacted their attachment development, sensory and motor development, along with socialization skills, in return causing behavioral and psychological disorders and learning disabilities being diagnosed by psychotropic medication.[11]
If parents monitor their child's behavior and regulate their environment, it can help to prevent any future affective disorders. Medication is often prescribed to these children; however, it alone will not teach a child to create more valuable relationships at home or in the community. Other forms of intervention can be applied to supplement the effects of medication therapy and teach the child self-regulatory behaviors and healthy coping skills.[12] The increase of psychiatric medication of children may be a result of the declining support for caregiving, leading to psychopathology in which drugs are oftentimes the go to method of treatment.[9] Families do not always have knowledge regarding or the means to pursue other methods of intervention such as one-on-one therapy with the child, family therapy and parenting counseling that can teach effective parenting strategies to meet their child's specific needs. There is debate that healthcare professionals have been put under pressure to perform proficiently causing the influence of piecemeal polypharmacy.[13]
Overprescription
Overprescription can lead to medication misuse or abuse. Antibiotics[14] and Narcotic painkillers[15] are both common examples seen in both inpatient and outpatient settings.
Opioids:
Opioids are used for pain management acutely or prescribed after a surgical procedure. A large issue with opioid prescription is the oversupply for pain management leading to opioid misuse. While opioids aid in short and long term pain management, overprescription or constant opioid-exposure allows people to be at risk for addiction or even sharing of medications for relief.[16] There is a rise within healthcare systems or departments to manage prescription day supply of opioids to avoid opioid misuse and abuse.
Antibiotics:
Antibiotics are a group of drugs that fight against or prevent bacterial infections. Antibiotics are one of the most commonly prescribed medications. Because of this, the misuse and overuse of these medications over the years have led them to lose their affinity for fighting certain bacteria due to bacteria developing resistance. Antibiotic over-prescription is one of the most significant contributing factors to the global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis. Antibiotic overprescription is a big problem in all areas of healthcare settings, whether in acute, primary hospitals, or dental offices.
Half of all written antibiotic prescriptions are inappropriate, and as a result of this antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections are increasing.
Undiagnosing medical conditions to prevent overprescribing
Some diagnoses do not hold important clinical implications. These conditions do not require treatment. When they are treated, there is the potential for harm but little potential for benefit. The ERASE algorithm can help clinicians to Evaluate diagnoses through the consideration of Resolved conditions, Ageing normally and Selecting appropriate targets to Eliminate unnecessary diagnoses and associated medicines.[17] Undiagnosing relies on accurate and comprehensive medical records to inform a thorough review of diagnoses.[18]
Medication overuse headaches
Medication overuse headaches, also known as rebound headaches, are caused by the overuse of pain-relieving drugs for headaches, such as migraine headaches.
References
- ^ a b Schifano F, Chiappini S, Miuli A, et al. (2021-05-07). "Focus on Over-the-Counter Drugs' Misuse: A Systematic Review on Antihistamines, Cough Medicines, and Decongestants". Frontiers in Psychiatry. 12. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.657397. ISSN 1664-0640. PMC 8138162. PMID 34025478.
- ^ Chiappini S, Schifano F (2020-10-14). "What about "Pharming"? Issues Regarding the Misuse of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs". Brain Sciences. 10 (10): 736. doi:10.3390/brainsci10100736. ISSN 2076-3425. PMC 7602178. PMID 33066476.
- ^ Bernal W, Hyyrylainen A, Gera A, et al. (July 2013). "Lessons from look-back in acute liver failure? A single centre experience of 3300 patients". Journal of Hepatology. 59 (1): 74–80. doi:10.1016/j.jhep.2013.02.010. ISSN 0168-8278. PMID 23439263.
- ^ Chiew AL, Gluud C, Brok J, et al. (2018-02-23). Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group (ed.). "Interventions for paracetamol (acetaminophen) overdose". Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2018 (2): CD003328. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD003328.pub3. PMC 6491303. PMID 29473717.
- ^ Buckley NA, Buckley N, Whyte IM, et al. (January 1999). "Activated Charcoal Reduces the Need forN-Acetylcysteine Treatment After Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) Overdose". Journal of Toxicology: Clinical Toxicology. 37 (6): 753–757. doi:10.1081/clt-100102452. ISSN 0731-3810. PMID 10584587.
- ^ Lavonas EJ, Dezfulian C (October 2020). "Impact of the Opioid Epidemic". Critical Care Clinics. 36 (4): 753–769. doi:10.1016/j.ccc.2020.07.006. PMID 32892827.
- ^ Root B (2018-02-05). ""They Want Docile": How Nursing Homes in the United States Overmedicate People with Dementia". Human Rights Watch.
- ^ Masnoon N, Shakib S, Kalisch-Ellett L, et al. (2017-10-10). "What is polypharmacy? A systematic review of definitions". BMC Geriatrics. 17 (1): 230. doi:10.1186/s12877-017-0621-2. ISSN 1471-2318. PMC 5635569. PMID 29017448.
- ^ a b "The overmedication of our youth: An interview with Brent Dean Robbins, PhD". Society for Humanistic Psychology Newsletter. April 2012.
- ^ Gittelman M (1979). "Introduction: Refining Diagnosis and Behavioral Intervention: Key to Preventing Overmedication". International Journal of Mental Health. 8 (1): 3–9. doi:10.1080/00207411.1979.11448816. JSTOR 41350662.
- ^ Rowan C (2010). "Unplug—Don't Drug: A Critical Look at the Influence of Technology on Child Behavior with an Alternative Way of Responding Other Than Evaluation and Drugging". Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry. 12: 61. doi:10.1891/1559-4343.12.1.60. S2CID 58689722.
- ^ Luvmour J (2011). "Nurturing Children's Well-Being: A Developmental Response to Trends of Overdiagnosis and Overmedication". Journal of Humanistic Psychology. 51 (3): 350–368. doi:10.1177/0022167810386958. S2CID 146359625.
- ^ Zakriski AL, Wheeler E, Burda J, et al. (February 2005). "Justifiable Psychopharmacology or Overzealous Prescription? Examining Parental Reports of Lifetime Prescription Histories of Psychiatrically Hospitalized Children". Child and Adolescent Mental Health. 10 (1): 16–22. doi:10.1111/j.1475-3588.2005.00111.x. PMID 32806815.
- ^ Thompson D (5 December 2016). "U.S. Doctors Still Over-Prescribing Drugs: Survey". WebMD.
- ^ Mozes A (25 March 2016). "Nearly All U.S. Doctors 'Overprescribe' Addictive Narcotic Painkillers: Survey". WebMD.
- ^ Stoicea N, Costa A, Periel L, et al. (2019-05-17). "Current perspectives on the opioid crisis in the US healthcare system". Medicine. 98 (20): e15425. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000015425. ISSN 0025-7974. PMC 6531094. PMID 31096439.
- ^ Page A, Etherton-Beer C (May 2019). "Undiagnosing to prevent overprescribing". Maturitas. 123: 67–72. doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2019.02.010. PMID 31027680.
- ^ Hosking SM, Etherton-Beer C, Page AT (1 July 2019). "Undiagnosing: Correcting the medical record to prevent over-intervention". Case Reports in Women's Health. 23: e00133. doi:10.1016/j.crwh.2019.e00133. PMC 6664263. PMID 31384565.
External links
- "Medicating Kids". Frontline. PBS. 10 April 2001.
- ^ Bassetti S, Tschudin-Sutter S, Egli A, et al. (2022). "Optimizing antibiotic therapies to reduce the risk of bacterial resistance". European Journal of Internal Medicine. 99: 7–12. doi:10.1016/j.ejim.2022.01.029.