Importantly, NAC works best when given early: it should be started before any symptoms appear. There is an antidote to paracetamol toxicity, called N-acetylcysteine (NAC), which is given as an intravenous infusion in hospital. Paracetamol is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the Western world. In severe cases, liver failure means the person will need a liver transplant, or they won’t survive. But any adult ingesting more than four grams in a day could be at risk. The quantity that constitutes a toxic dose depends on circumstances including the time period in which the paracetamol is taken, and the person’s weight. This can lead to build up of a toxic metabolite (or break-down product), which binds to liver cells, causing these cells to die. Paracetamol itself is not toxic, but in large amounts it overwhelms the body’s ability to process it safely. What a paracetamol overdose does to your body More than 200 people died from paracetamol poisoning in Australia in the ten year period. This is likely because people are taking more tablets when they overdose than in previous years, increasing the risk of liver failure. Liver injury from paracetamol has doubled over the same period. In that time, we recorded more than 95,000 paracetamol-related hospitalisations.
The annual number of cases of paracetamol poisoning increased by 44% from 2007-2008 to 2016-2017. We analysed data from national hospital admissions, poisons centre calls, and coroners’ records to examine poisonings, liver injuries, and deaths. It’s time to consider restrictions, including reducing pack sizes and changing the way paracetamol is sold. And the bigger the dose, the greater the risk. However when this dose is exceeded, there is a potential for harm. Paracetamol is safe if used appropriately, at a maximum of four grams per day in adults (equivalent to eight 500mg tablets, or six 665mg modified release tablets). In fact, paracetamol is actually the number one pharmaceutical Australian poisons centres receive calls about. As far as medications go, it’s one we’re unlikely to associate with harm.īut in a study published today in the Medical Journal of Australia, my colleagues and I reveal a concerning increase in paracetamol poisonings, and resulting liver damage, in Australia over the last decade. Most of us take paracetamol every now and again to reduce pain or fever.
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