Trends in Gabapentin Abuse Reported to Poison Centers, 2012-2015 JA Shulman, Lynch MJ, Pizon AF University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Division of Medical Toxicology, Department of Emergency Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA Results: Identified 6239 cases of gabapentin abuse during the study period (Table 1), and 9663 coingested substances (Table 1), among which sedative-hypnotics were most common. Males comprised 48.5% of reported cases, ages 39.3±14.8 years Sole agent of abuse in 2195 cases (35.2%), and symptoms related to drowsiness/lethargy in cases of only gabapentin abuse were most common (Table 2). Mean annual prevalence of gabapentin abuse rose from 2.69 cases per million (CPM) in 2012 to 9.18 CPM in 2015 (Figure 1) West Virginia and Kentucky had highest average prevalence during this period (Figure 2) 22 reported deaths, only 1 from gabapentin alone, 95% were associated with other substances Background Gabapentin is a newer antiepileptic medication with structural homology to GABA, though mechanism of action is dissimilar In overdose, reported to cause euphoria and sedation, Good candidate for drug abuse. Due to widespread rise in availability and abuse potential, we predicted to find a rise in rates of gabapentin abuse reported to U.S. Poison Centers Methods Retrospective analysis of adult (>17 years) cases reported to the National Poison Data System (NPDS) from 1/2012 to 12/2015 using search terms, “gabapentin,” “abuse” Information on demographics, outcomes, and interventions were collected All analyses performed using descriptive statistics Courtesy: National Geographic Discussion/Conclusions Rates of gabapentin abuse reported to poison centers have risen steadily between 2012 and 2015 in every state. Very few fatalities in isolation, however usually combined with other more lethal dangerous substances. Factors which may influence abuse include: Difficulty in detection on routine drug screening Lack of DEA schedule designation Future areas of investigations include association with other substances implicated in abuse. Coingested Substance Reported (n=9663) Sedative-hypnotic 3684 Opioids 1702 Antidepressants 916 Non-opioid Analgesics 507 Antiepileptics 451 Antihistamines 413 Antihypertensives 314 Sympathomimetics 302 Hallucinogenic Compounds 205 Cough/Cold 33 Other 1136 Symptom Number Related % of total (n=2195) Drowsiness/lethargy 1027 16.5 Tachycardia 316 5.1 Slurred speech 219 3.5 Confusion 212 3.4 Agitated/irritable 179 2.9 Hypotension 128 2.4 Ataxia 124 2.0 Coma 117 1.9 Hypertension 112 1.8 Respiratory Depression 104 1.7 Dizziness/vertigo 87 1.4 Figure 1: Mean cases per state (in CPM) of gabapentin abuse exposures reported to poison centers 2012-2015 Table 3: Symptoms in gabapentin abuse cases most frequently reported to U.S. Poison Centers thought to be related to gabapentin abuse alone (n=2195) as reported in NPDS from 2012-2015. Table 1: Coingested substances reported to NPDS from 2012-2015 2012 2014 2013 2015 CPM Figure 2: Population-adjusted heat maps demonstrating changes in cases reported to U.S. poison centers (cases per million) each year between 2012 and 2015 Special Thanks to Jessica Kerr for her assistance in creating this poster