National Data Source:

National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS), NCHS, CDC.

State Data Source:

Not identified.

Healthy People 2000 Objective:

Adapted from 9.8 (Unintentional Injuries).

Measure:

Rate per 100,000 population (age adjusted—see Comments).

Baseline:

348.4 (1997).

Numerator:

Number of emergency room visits for nonfatal poisonings (first-listed ICD-9-CM codes E850-E869, E950-E952, E962, E972, E980-E982).

Denominator:

Number of persons.

Population Targeted:

U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population

Questions Used To Obtain the National Data:

From the 1997–98 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: -- Cause of injury. Describe events that preceded injury (e.g., reaction to penicillin, wasp sting, driver in motor vehicle traffic accident involving collision with parked vehicle, shot with a handgun during a brawl, etc.)

Expected Periodicity:

Annual.

Comments:

Data include all emergency room visits related to poisoning regardless of intent (intentional, unintentional, and undetermined).

This objective differs from Healthy People 2000 objective 9.8, which used data from NEISS, CPSC that were not age adjusted.

The NHAMCS uses ICD-9-CM codes assigned to the cause of injury to identify poisoning cases in emergency department records, whereas NEISS used emergency department admissions related to a specific list of regulated products that were classified as poisons. Hence, NEISS data may have undercounted poisoning admissions. Additionally, when the list of regulated products changed, some cases previously classified as poisonings may have been omitted from the reported rate of poisoning admissions.

Data are age adjusted to the 2000 standard population. Age-adjusted rates are weighted sums of age-specific rates.

Description of the NHAMCS

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