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Acetaminophen Dangers Documented

The December 17, 2002 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine reports that the most widely used nonprescription pain reliever Acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol) is responsible for much more liver damage than previously thought.

The study examined 308 cases of acute liver failure. 39% of the failures were caused by acetaminophen toxicity. According to Dr. William Lee, principal investigator and professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, “We were surprised to find that the number of people with liver damage from acetaminophen was three times that of all other prescription drugs.”

79% of the acetaminophen toxicity cases were women. According to Lee, “we don’t know if this is because women take more acetaminophen-containing drugs than men do, if women’s livers are more vulnerable, or if it’s because they are smaller.”

Most of the toxicity cases were accidental, the result of people mixing medications that contain acetaminophen. Acetaminophen is so pervasive in the over the counter market that mixing pain, cough and sleep medications can easily add up to a dangerous dose of the drug.

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