BACKGROUND Acetaminophen overdose is a major concern among the pediatric population. Our objective was to assess the validity of International Classification of Disease (ICD-9-CM) codes for identification of pediatric emergency department (ED) visits resulting from acetaminophen exposure or overdose. METHODS We conducted a retrospective medical record review of ED visits at Texas Children's H...

objective(s): methylsulfonylmethane (msm) is a sulfur-containing compound found in a wide range of human foods including fruits, vegetables, grains and beverages. in this study the effect of msm pretreatment on acetaminophen induced liver damage was investigated. materials and methods: male sprague dawley rats were pretreated with 100 mg/kg msm for one week. on day seven rats were received acet...

Background: Fatalities from acetaminophen poisoning are common, but they are preventable by timely treatment with N-acetyl cysteine (NAC). In many medical centers, NAC is prescribed in keeping with the ingested dose of the drug as revealed through medical history. It seems to significantly differ from the real indications of NAC administration based on plasma level of acetaminophen. Overtreat...

Background: Analgesics are reported to be responsible for 11.3% of the poisoning events in the 20 y data obtained from the Poison Counseling Centers. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between epidemiological characteristics of patients, drug levels detected in acetaminophen poisoning and course of the disease due to timely, late admission and severity of intoxication. Meth...

INTRODUCTION Serum concentrations of acetaminophen are measured to predict the risk of hepatotoxicity in cases of acetaminophen overdose and to identify acetaminophen use in patients with acute liver injury without a known cause. The acetaminophen concentration determines if treatment with N-acetyl cysteine, the antidote for acetaminophen poisoning, is warranted. DESCRIPTION A 49-year-old wom...

A 23-year-old woman was brought to the emergency room after ingesting 50 g of acetaminophen. Her blood acetaminophen level was 158 mg/L, and she later developed fulminant hepatic failure. Sixty-three hours after ingestion, ECG displayed signs suggestive of acute ischemic injury (Figure 1A). Serum enzymes revealed a Troponin-I of 227.2 ng/mL. The patient’s declining clinical status precluded a c...