An assessment of the variation in the concentration of acetylcysteine in infusions for the treatment of paracetamol overdose

• Published in: British journal of clinical pharmacology Vol. 83; no. 2; pp. 393 - 399
• Main Authors: Bailey, George P., Wood, David M., Archer, John R. H., Rab, Edmund, Flanagan, Robert J., Dargan, Paul I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley and Sons Inc 01.02.2017
• Subjects: acetaminophen; Acetaminophen - administration & dosage; Acetaminophen - poisoning; acetylcysteine; Acetylcysteine - administration & dosage; Acetylcysteine - pharmacokinetics; Analgesics, Non-Narcotic - administration & dosage; Analgesics, Non-Narcotic - poisoning; Antidotes - administration & dosage; Antidotes - pharmacokinetics; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Drug Overdose; Hospitals, Teaching; Humans; Infusions, Intravenous; intravenous infusions; medication errors; paracetamol; Prospective Studies; Therapeutics; United Kingdom; intravenous infusions; acetylcysteine; acetaminophen; drug overdose; paracetamol; medication errors

Background Intravenous acetylcysteine is the treatment of choice for paracetamol poisoning. A previous UK study in 2001 found that 39% of measured acetylcysteine infusion concentrations differed by >20% from anticipated concentrations. In 2012, the UK Commission on Human Medicines made recommenda...