Medpedia

Medscape (1/24, Fox) report that a study "published online January 23 in Pediatrics cautions clinicians to be aware of the potential for overdose of" intravenous acetaminophen. "Richard Dart, MD, PhD, and Barry Rumack, MD, both from the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center, Denver, Colorado, say that in 2010, regulatory authorities in the United Kingdom reported 23 cases of single or repeated dosing errors using the intravenous (IV) form of acetaminophen in children younger than a year old." The authors said that "most involved a 10-fold error in young children, which resulted from calculating the dosage of the solution in milligrams, but then administering it in milliliters."