Often, people do not realize that acetaminophen is one of the ingredients in many combination medications such as cold and flu preparations. When a large dose of acetaminophen is ingested or that exceeds the recommended amount over a period of time, the liver is no longer able to produce enough protective glutathione as a result, the toxic byproduct builds up in the liver and may cause severe liver damage if timely treatment is not given.įor this reason, acetaminophen can be harmful or even fatal if not taken correctly and children in particular are at risk if caregivers do not follow dosing instructions carefully. Fortunately, your liver makes a antioxidant called glutathione that binds to the byproduct and minimizes its toxic effects.

However, about 5 to 10% of the absorbed acetaminophen is converted to a toxic, highly-reactive byproduct. Once entering your body, like many other medications, acetaminophen is processed in the liver into harmless substances and removed in your urine. However, it is also the most common cause of toxic hepatitis in North America and Europe and one of the most common poisonings from either accidental or intentional overdose. The outcomes for these patients are unknown because after hospital discharge they were not available for follow-up.Acetaminophen is one of the most common pain relievers (analgesics) and fever reducers (antipyretics) available over the counter. We believe that this potentially dangerous practice is the result of ambiguous wording. When questioned, they stated that the package insert recommended cessation of acetylcysteine therapy when acetaminophen levels were no longer detectable. In the last 6 months we have noted three instances in which physicians treating patients with acetaminophen overdoses discontinued acetylcysteine therapy on the basis of serial acetaminophen assays and did not complete the standard course of treatment.

The Oregon Poison Center serves a population of 2.5 million people and, like all poison centers, it frequently deals with acetaminophen overdoses. We would like to inform your readers of a disturbing pattern in the treatment of acetaminophen overdoses.

Acetaminophen antidote