Analysis of the long term effect of reduced pack sizes of paracetamol on poisoning deaths and liver transplant activity in England and Wales.

Source: BMJ Area: News Legislation to reduce pack sizes of paracetamol was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1998. This interrupted time series analysis assessed the long term effect of this legislation on deaths from paracetamol poisoning and liver unit activity among patients in England and Wales. Mortality and liver unit activity data were gathered from October 1998 until the end of 2009 from the Office for National Statistics and NHS Blood and Transplant, respectively.   The authors reported the following results: . Compared with the pre-legislation level, following the legislation there was an estimated average reduction of 17 (95% confidence interval ?25 to ?9) deaths per quarter in England and Wales involving paracetamol alone (with or without alcohol) that received suicide or undetermined verdicts. This decrease represented a 43% reduction or an estimated 765 fewer deaths over the 11ΒΌ years after the legislation. A similar effect was found when accidental poisoning deaths ...
Source: NeLM - News - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news