• Kelsey Pringle, Sarah Caupp, Junxin Shi, Krista K Wheeler, Henry A Spiller, Marcel J Casavant, and Henry Xiang.
• a Center for Injury Research and Policy , The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital , Columbus , OH , USA.
• Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2017 Aug 1; 55 (7): 652-658.

ContextPharmaceutical drug poisonings, especially those that are intentional, are a serious problem for adolescents and young adults. Poison control center data is a viable tool to track intentional drug poisonings in near real-time.ObjectiveTo determine intentional drug poisoning rates among adolescents and young adults in Ohio using poison control center data.MethodsWe analyzed data from 2002 to 2014 obtained by Ohio's three poison control centers. Inclusion variables were calls made to the centers that had appropriate subject age (10-29 years old), subject sex, involved substance (all drug classes), and medical outcome (no effect, minor effect, moderate effect, major effect, and death). Intentional drug poisoning reports were also separated into subgroups to compare suspected suicide reports to misuse and abuse reports. Finally, resident population estimates were used to generate 2014 intentional drug poisoning rates for each county in Ohio.ResultsThe most common age group for intentional drug poisonings was 18-24. Females reported more suspected suicide drug poisonings while males reported more misuse/abuse drug poisonings. The most reported drug class across all ages was analgesics. Of the 88 counties in Ohio, Hamilton, Williams, Washington, and Guernsey counties had the highest rates of intentional drug poisonings.ConclusionsThe high report rate of suspected suicides and analgesic class drugs demonstrates the need for preventative measures for adolescents and young adults in Ohio. Any interventions, along with legislative changes, will need to take place in our local communities.

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