Massive Acetaminophen Overdose

Thor S Stead; Jae Yun Jeong; Latha Ganti; Jose Rubero

doi:10.7759/cureus.9262

Massive Acetaminophen Overdose

Cureus. 2020 Jul 18;12(7):e9262. doi: 10.7759/cureus.9262.

Authors

Thor S Stead¹, Jae Yun Jeong², Latha Ganti^{3

4

5}, Jose Rubero⁶

Affiliations

¹ Emergency Medicine, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, USA.
² Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Brown University, Providence, USA.
³ Emergency Medicine, Envision Physician Services, Nashville, USA.
⁴ Emergency Medicine, University of Central Florida College of Medicine/Hospital Corporation of America Graduate Medical Education Consortium of Greater Orlando, Orlando, USA.
⁵ Emergency Medical Services, Polk County Fire Rescue, Bartow, USA.
⁶ Emergency Medicine, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Orlando, USA.

Abstract

The authors present a case of a fatal intentional acetaminophen (APAP) overdose and remind the physician how ubiquitous the drug is. This case presentation highlights the clinical presentation and treatment options for APAP overdose in unresponsive patients. In cases of massive APAP overdose (> 300 µg/ml plasma at four hours post-ingestion), prompt administration of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and early hemodialysis are indicated.

Keywords: acetaminophen; poisoning; toxicology.

Publication types

Case Reports