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HOME > J Korean Soc Clin Toxicol > Volume 15(2); 2017 > Article
Is it Adequate to Determine Acetaminophen Toxicity Solely on Patients' History? An Analysis on Clinical Manifestation of Intoxication Patients with Positive Serum Acetaminophen Concentrations
Jee Hyun Kim, Won-joon Jeong, Seung Ryu, Yong Chul Cho, Jang Hyuck Moon, Hyun Soo Choi, Song Hee Yang, Hee Sun Chung
Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology 2017;15(2):94-100
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22537/jksct.2017.15.2.94
Published online: December 31, 2017
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1Department of Emergency Medicine, Chungnam National University Hospital
2Department of Emergency Medicine, Chungnam National University Hospital
3Department of Emergency Medicine, Chungnam National University Hospital
4Department of Emergency Medicine, Chungnam National University Hospital
5Department of Emergency Medicine, Chungnam National University Hospital
6Department of Emergency Medicine, Chungnam National University Hospital
7Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University
8Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University

Purpose: Acute acetaminophen intoxication is a common occurrence that can cause lethal complications. In most domestic emergency departments, clinicians tend to treat acetaminophen intoxication based on patients' history alone, simply due to the lack of a rapid acetaminophen laboratory test. We performed a 20-month study of intoxication patients to determine the correlation between the history of patients and serum laboratory tests for acetaminophen. Methods: We took blood samples from 280 intoxication patients to evaluate whether laboratory findings detected traces of acetaminophen in the sample. Patients were then treated according to their history. Laboratory results came out after patients' discharge. Agreement between patients' history and laboratory results were analyzed. Results: Among the 280 intoxicated patients enrolled, 38 patients had positive serum acetaminophen concentrations; 18 out of 38 patients did not represent a history suggesting acetaminophen intoxication. One patient without the history showed toxic serum acetaminophen concentration. Among the patients with the history, two patients with toxic serum acetaminophen concentration did not receive N-acetylcysteine (NAC) treatment due to their low reported doses, while other 2 patients without significant serum acetaminophen concentration did receive NAC treatment due to their high reported doses. Conclusion: This study showed a good overall agreement between history and laboratory test results. However, some cases showed inconsistencies between their history and laboratory test results. Therefore, in treating intoxication patients, a laboratory test of acetaminophen with rapid results should be available in most domestic emergency departments.

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JKSCT : Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology