Estimates of acetaminophen (Paracetomal)-associated overdoses in the United States.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the number of acetaminophen-associated overdoses in the United States and identify possible risk factors for intervention.


METHODS
The investigators obtained estimates of acetaminophen-associated overdoses using different national databases. Two emergency room databases, a hospital discharge database, a national mortality file, and a poison surveillance database were used to identify cases. The FDA's spontaneous reporting system was searched to identify possible root causes for overdoses.


RESULTS
Analysis of national databases show that acetaminophen-associated overdoses account for about 56,000 emergency room visits and 26,000 hospitalizations yearly. Analysis of national mortality files shows 458 deaths occur each year from acetaminophen-associated overdoses; 100 of these are unintentional. The poison surveillance database showed near-doubling in the number of fatalities associated with acetaminophen from 98 in 1997 to 173 in 2001. AERS data describe a number of possible causes for unintentional acetaminophen-associated overdoses.


CONCLUSIONS
Each year a substantial numbers of Americans experience intentional and unintentional acetaminophen-associated overdoses that, in severe cases, lead to serious illness and possible death. This summary of a series of analyses highlights the need for strategies to reduce this public health burden.
Nourjah
Parivash
P
Office of Drug Safety, Division of Drug Risk Evaluation, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland 20993, USA. NOURJAHP@CDER.FDA.GOV
Ahmad
Syed Rizwanuddin
SR
Karwoski
Claudia
C
Willy
Mary
M
D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000506:poisoning*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016907:Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Systems / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D016208:Databases, Factual; D062787:Drug Overdose; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011039:Poison Control Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States
D000082:Acetaminophen