Drugs Or Medications, Not Specified
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Transportation & Substances · CPSC Code 1929
Down 29% over 5 years
The verdict
Drugs Or Medications, Not Specified carry a danger score of 42/100 (moderate risk), driven by roughly 445 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 29% over the last five years.
- 42/100
- danger score (moderate risk)
- 445
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 22.9%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1929 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 42/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for drugs or medications, not specified - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume445 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)22.9%
- Fatality rate0.48%
- 5-year trend-29%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Drugs Or Medications, Not Specified (CPSC product code 1929, in the Transportation & Substances category) generate an estimated 445 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 8,896 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 42/100 for this category (moderate risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 29% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2005 (1,297 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2014 (160 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for drugs or medications, not specified is poisoning to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 8,800 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by burn, chemical to the mouth (79 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 8,834 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 22.9% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.48%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how drugs or medications, not specified fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 4,863 | 3,971 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| All Parts Body | Poisoning | |
| Mouth | Burn, Chemical | |
| All Parts Body | Derma/conjunct | |
| Face | Other | |
| Shoulder | Dislocation |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
2YOM - PATIENT PRESENT FOR DRUG OVERDOSE. PT TOOK HIS BROTHER'S CLONIDINE, 0.3 MG. DX: CLONDINE OVERDOSE.
3YOM P/W DRUG INGESTION, AS PER MOM AND DAD THEY FOUND PT W/ A SMALLWHITE BAGGY CONTAINING A WHITE POWDER IN THE *** PARKING LOT, MOM WAS UNLOADING SOMETHING INTO HER CAR LOOKED OVER AND NOTED HIM TO HAVE IT IN HIS HAND, C/O NONE, DRUG UNK, DX:ACCIDENTIAL DRUG INGESTION
11MOF PATIENT HAD CRAWLED INTO ANOTHER ROOM, MOM WENT TO PICK UP THE PATIENT AND SHE SAW A FOAMY WHITE CHALKY SUBSTANCE IN THE PATIENT'S MOUTH. SHE WAS ABLE TO RETRIEVE 2 BITS OF CHALKLIKE MATERIAL. PATIENT SPIT UP IMMEDIATELY AFTER MOM FOUND HER. MOM REPORTS THAT THE ONLY WHITE PILL IN THE HOUSE WOULD BE ***. MOM DECLINED LABS. DX: INGESTED SUBSTANCE, UNKNOWN DRUG
4YOF PRESENTED FOR POSSIBLE INGESTION OF UNKNOWN SUBSTANCE, EMESIS AND FUSSY. NO FURTHER INFORMATION PROVIDED. DX: INGESTION; LWBS
18MOF PRESENTING WITH LETHARGY AND UNRESPONSIVENESS. PATIENT WAS GIVEN *** AND UDS WAS NEGATIVE. DX: LETHARGY; INGESTION OF UNKNOWN DRUG
3YOM WAS PICKED UP FROM AUNT'S HOUSE WITH ALTERED BEHAVIOR AND VOMITING, DAD IS CONCERNED THAT HE COULD HAVE INGESTED A DRUG. DX: CONCERN FOR ACCIDENTAL DRUG INGESTION; ALTERED MENTAL STATUS.
2YOM PRESENTS AFTER AN ACCIDENTAL INGESTION OF MEDICATIONS - UNSURE WHAT MEDICATION DX: ACCIDENTAL DRUG INGESTION
2YOM WITH BENZODIAZEPINE TOXICITY. UDS POSITIVE FOR BENZODIAZEPINES AND CAFFEINE. PARENTS ARE UNCLEAR WHERE PATIENT COULD HAVE INGESTED ANY MEDICATIONS.
2YOF WITH AN INGESTION. MOM FOUND PATIENT WITH A NEW BOTTLE OF 3 MG MELATONIN GUMMIES. APPROXIMATELY 15-20 WERE GONE.
16 MOF CLIMBED ON HER HIGHCHAIR TO GET INTO GRANDMOTHERS MEDICATIONS. DX: ACCIDENTAL DRUG INGESTION
23MOF ATE RAT POISON AND VOMITED. DX: POISONING BY OTHER DRUGS MEDICAMENTS AND BIOLOGICAL SUBSTANCE, ACCIDENTAL
4 YOF GRANDMOTHER CONCERNED ABOUT ALERTERD GAIT, EXPOSED TO DRUGS. DX ATAXIA
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to drugs or medications, not specified on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are drugs or medications, not specified?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, drugs or medications, not specified have a danger score of 42/100 (moderate risk). An estimated 445 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from drugs or medications, not specified?
The most common injury is poisoning to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 8,800 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from drugs or medications, not specified increasing or decreasing?
Down 29% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for drugs or medications, not specified injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 8,834 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by drugs or medications, not specified?
Of all ER visits involving drugs or medications, not specified, approximately 22.9% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (77.1%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with drugs or medications, not specified?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Transportation & Substances
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 42/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 0-4 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
