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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Simon ThomasORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
Background: The licensed intravenous acetylcysteine regimen for treating paracetamol overdose in most countries uses three separate infusions over 21 hours. This complex regimen, requiring different infusion concentrations and rates, has been associated with administration errors. The aim was to assess the extent of administration delays occurring during this acetylcysteine regimen.Method: A 6-month retrospective observational study was conducted at three English teaching hospitals with clinical toxicology services from October 2014. Patients aged 16-years and over treated with intravenous acetylcysteine for paracetamol overdose were included. The start times for infusions were recorded and the delays compared to the prescribed infusion times were calculated. Anaphylactoid reactions, intravenous cannula problems, overdose intent and smoking status were recorded to assess their contribution to delays.Results: From 263 cases identified, 198 met study inclusion criteria. The median time between the start of infusions 1 and 3 was delayed from the intended 5 hours by a median (IQR) of 90 (50-163) minutes, with 135 (68%) cases delayed by more than one hour. Significantly longer delays were observed in patients with anaphylactoid reactions (median delay 267 (217-413) minutes, n=8) and accidental / supra-therapeutic overdose (median delay 170 (95-260) minutes, n=29). There were no significant differences between smokers and non-smokers and for patients with intravenous cannula problems. Conclusion: Long delays were identified during the three-infusion acetylcysteine regimen for the treatment of paracetamol overdose. Delays were of clinical significance and could lead to periods of sub-therapeutic plasma acetylcysteine concentrations and potentially avoidable hepatotoxicity, as well as delaying hospital discharge.
Author(s): Bailey GP, Najafi J, Elamin MEMO, Waring WS, Thomas SHL, Archer JRH, Wood DM, Dargan PI
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
Year: 2016
Volume: 82
Issue: 5
Pages: 1358-1363
Print publication date: 01/11/2016
Online publication date: 14/07/2016
Acceptance date: 09/07/2016
Date deposited: 11/07/2016
ISSN (print): 0306-5251
ISSN (electronic): 1365-2125
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bcp.13063
DOI: 10.1111/bcp.13063
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