How Emergency Doctors Make an Early Diagnosis of Acetaminophen Overdose and Its Decision Making
LI Yi
YU Xue-zhong
Abstract：Acetaminophen ( paracetamol) is widely used in clinical work. Its toxic effect was found in America in 1971, since then it is widely investigated in the world. There are lots of OTC patulin containing acetaminophen, which main toxic effect is the hepatic. Hepatic injury can happen as the dose is 150-250 mg/kg, and it seems that children younger than 10 years old have more tolerance. The diagnosis of acetaminophen overdose can be confirmed by the blood level test 4 hours after ingestion. Therapeutic principle includes enhanced elimination and antidotal use of N-acetylcysteine( NAC) . The rule of 150 should be remembered:①>150 mg/kg is the toxic level. If it is impossible for the blood test, full course of NAC treat-ment should begin as soon as possible. ②If it is possible to check the blood level, and if the blood level 4 hours after ingest-ion is over 150 mg/dl, full course of NAC should be performed.
Keywords：AcetaminophenDrugPoisoningEmergency treatment
Publication Date：2014-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：3( 10-12 )