Morgan O, Hawkins L, Edwards N, Dargan P
Department of Primary Care and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK.
J Clin Pharm Ther. 2007 Oct;32(5):449-55. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2710.2007.00842.x.
In September 1998, legislation was introduced in the United Kingdom to limit paracetamol pack sizes to 16 tablets of 500 mg at general sales outlets and 32 tablets of 500 mg at pharmacies. The effect of the regulations on severity of paracetamol poisoning is unclear. The aim of this study was to describe trends in the severity of paracetamol poisoning and to assess the impact of the 1998 Regulations on the enquiries to a UK poisons centre.
We extracted data about the age, sex and number of tablets or capsules of paracetamol ingested by patients notified to Guy's and St Thomas' Poisons Unit (London, UK) between 1996 and 2004.
During the study period, there were approximately 140 000 patients with suspected paracetamol poisoning, accounting for around 11% of all patients reported to the poisons unit. The median number of tablets fell from 25 to 20 for males and 20 to 16 for females after 1998. There was also a reduction in the proportion of patients who ingested 17-32 tablets (from 36% to 30%) and 33-100 tablets (from 25% to 19%).
Following the 1998 Regulations there was a decline in the severity, but not frequency, of paracetamol poisoning cases reported to Guy's and St Thomas' Poisons Unit. It is unclear whether the decline in severity was a direct consequence of the regulations.
1998年9月，英国出台立法，将普通销售点对乙酰氨基酚的包装规格限制为16片500毫克装，药店则限制为32片500毫克装。这些规定对乙酰氨基酚中毒严重程度的影响尚不清楚。本研究的目的是描述乙酰氨基酚中毒严重程度的趋势，并评估1998年法规对英国一家毒物中心咨询情况的影响。
我们提取了1996年至2004年期间向盖伊和圣托马斯毒物科（英国伦敦）报告的患者的年龄、性别以及摄入对乙酰氨基酚片剂或胶囊数量的数据。
在研究期间，约有140000例疑似对乙酰氨基酚中毒患者，占向毒物科报告的所有患者的11%左右。1998年后，男性摄入片剂的中位数从25片降至20片，女性从20片降至16片。摄入17 - 32片（从36%降至30%）和33 - 100片（从25%降至19%）的患者比例也有所下降。
1998年法规实施后，向盖伊和圣托马斯毒物科报告的对乙酰氨基酚中毒病例的严重程度有所下降，但中毒频率未下降。严重程度的下降是否是法规的直接结果尚不清楚。
