Survey: ADHD Drugs Send Thousands to ER
September 26, 2006 09:14

Source: Adderall Article: According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) approximately 3,100 patients (both children and adults) end us in emergency rooms from accidental overdoses and side effects of ADHD drugs. Almost two-thirds could be prevented by parents locking up the pills. Other side effects that drive patients to the ER include potential cardiac problems such as chest pain, stroke, high blood pressure, and fast heart rate. Concerns over these side effects have led some doctors to urge the Food and Drug Administration to require a "black box" warning (the most serious warning) on package inserts for ADHD drugs such Adderall, Concerta, and Ritalin. The issue was discussed in a series of letters in the New England Journal of Medicine, including some from doctors worried about the dangers of not treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The doctors could not agree on whether or not the more serious warning was necessary.