Prevalence of Sedating Medication Use Among Older Drivers Presenting in the Emergency Department.

Background: Adults over the age of 65 are involved in more motor vehicle collisions per mile driven than those under 65.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of sedating medication use among older drivers, and their recall of advice given by medical professionals about potential for these medications to cause driving impairment.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of older adults (age ≥ 65) who had driven in the last 30 days, presenting at an urban emergency department.

Prescription Opioid Use and Misuse Among Older Adult Rhode Island Hospital Emergency Department Patients.

Because of the multitude of financial, health, and social problems associated with prescription opioid misuse, effective methods of identifying older adults who are misusing these medications are needed. We conducted a pilot investigation to determine the prevalence of previous and current prescription opioid use among older adults visiting the Rhode Island Hospital Emergency Department and their need for opioid misuse interventions. Among 88 randomly selected older adults (≥ 65 years of age) presenting to the ED with sub-critical illness or injury, 19% (95% CI: 11-27%) were current opioid users and 6% (95% CI: 4-8%) would require an intervention for prescription opioid misuse.