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Symptoms: There is a risk of liver injury (including fulminant hepatitis, hepatic failure, cholestatic hepatitis, cytolytic hepatitis), particularly in elderly subjects, in young children, in patients with liver disease, in cases of chronic alcoholism, in patients with chronic malnutrition and in patients receiving enzyme inducers. Overdosing may be fatal in these cases.
Symptoms generally appear within the first 24 hours and comprise: nausea, vomiting, anorexia, pallor and abdominal pain. Immediate emergency measures are necessary in case of paracetamol overdose, even when no symptoms are present.
Overdose, 7.5 g or more of paracetamol in a single administration in adults or 140 mg/kg of body weight in a single administration in children, causes hepatic cytolysis likely to induce complete and irreversible necrosis, resulting in hepatocellular insufficiency, metabolic acidosis and encephalopathy which may lead to coma and death. Simultaneously, increased levels of hepatic transaminases (AST, ALT), lactate dehydrogenase and bilirubin are observed together with decreased prothrombin levels that may appear 12 to 48 hours after administration. Clinical symptoms of liver damage are usually evident initially after two days, and reach a maximum after 4 to 6 days.
Treatment: Immediate hospitalisation.
Before beginning treatment, take a blood sample for plasma paracetamol assay, as soon as possible after the overdose.
The treatment includes administration of the antidote, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) by the intravenous or oral route, if possible before the 10th hour. NAC can, however, give some degree of protection even after 10 hours, but in these cases prolonged treatment is given.
Symptomatic treatment.
Hepatic tests must be carried out at the beginning of treatment and repeated every 24 hours. In most cases hepatic transaminases restitution to normal in one to two weeks with full return of normal liver function. In very severe cases, however, liver transplantation may be necessary.
