Acetaminophen Worries
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Wednesday, July 1, 2009; 10:10 AM
The Food and Drug Administration is pondering what to do about the wildly popular painkiller in Tylenol, Excedrin, Vicodin, Percocet and many other commonly used drugs to treat aches and pains and alleviate fevers. That's after an FDA panel called for sweeping changes yesterday at the conclusion of a a two-day meeting the agency convened to review the safety of acetaminophen, the active ingredient in those drugs. Acetaminophen is generally very safe and effective, but in excess doses it can cause liver failure. And because acetaminophen is so common -- more than 24 billion doses were sold last year in the United States -- even rare side effects can add up to a lot of problems. Acetaminophen overdoses are the leading cause of liver damage in the United States. The FDA estimates that more than 400 people die each year from overdoses and thousands more are hospitalized. Because years of
