ABSTRACT

Hong Kong Med J 1996;2:434-6 | Number 4, December 1996
CASE REPORT
Therapeutic misadventure with paracetamol
TW Ho, KC Lam
Canossa Hospital, 1 Old Peak Road, Hong Kong
 
 
A 33-year-old woman presented with jaundice, tiredness, nausea, and vomiting of three days' duration after taking two glasses of gin and tonic together with 13 tablets of 500 mg paracetamol. Blood investigation results inferred a toxic hepatitis due to paracetamol overdose. She made an uneventful recovery. The case illustrates that if paracetamol is taken together with alcohol, even a relatively small dose of paracetamol can cause liver damage. Current studies of paracetamol poisoning are also discussed.
 
Key words: Acetaminophen; Poisoning; Hepatitis, toxic; Acetylcysteine; Methionine
 
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