| Author/s | Adams RD, Crawford CL, Perry L, Thomas SHL, Thompson JP, Vale JA, Eddleston M |
| Year | 2013 |
| Type of publication | Conference proceeding |
| Link | https://doi.org/10.3109/15563650.2014.906213 |
| Abstract | Objective: Paracetamol enquiries comprise 12–15% of National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) call volume, of which 10–18% relate to dental pain. Recent changes in the guidance from Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for paracetamol poisoning included the removal of “risk factors” from patient assessment and lowering of the nomogram treatment line from 200 to 100 mg/L at 4 hours. We aimed to examine the impact of MHRA changes to treatment guidance on enquiries about accidental paracetamol excess in the context of dental pain. Methods: Calls involving paracetamol were extracted from the UK Poisons Information Database (UKPID) for 1 year before and 1 year after the management change (3/9/2011 to 2/9/2013). Enquiries were selected based on keywords “tooth,” “dental,” “dentist,” or “teeth” and analysed in a Microsoft Access database. Results: Examining the data by month revealed 3 periods: a pre-change baseline (49 enquiries/month), a four-month immediate post-change period (221 enquiries/month), and a post–change return to new baseline (71 enquiries/month). Conclusion: The new MHRA guidance resulted in a major increase in calls to the NPIS and in referrals to hospital relating to excess paracetamol ingestion for dental pain. |