The Pros And Cons Of APAP Overdose

Due to these incidents and many severe cases of drug side effects that had happened in the past including deaths, the current way drugs are developed and approved are unethical. Therefore, reform in FDA’s management as well as the guidelines is necessary to strengthen safety standards and eliminate problems regarding drug development and regulation.

Adverse reactions to drugs are common and almost any drug can cause an adverse reaction.

As we learned in class last week, victimless crime can be one of many things. Victimless crime is defined as a crime taking place where there are no harmful injuries done from one person to another. Instead, the damage being done is committed by the individual who is committing the crime. Some examples of a victimless crime are, Drug use, prostitution, gambling, suicide, traffic citations and trespassing.

Individuals taking tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) for major depression sometimes use these same drugs to attempt suicide. Unresolved depression can lead to individuals taking further drastic measures to deal with their emotional dissatisfaction. While TCA’s may not always be the most lethal drugs, an overdose can still have life threatening consequences. Following overdose of TCA’s, early identification of predictive symptoms for life endangering seizures and ventricular arrhythmias could allow healthcare providers the opportunity to take preventative measures and thus save lives.

America is struggling with a new epidemic that is taking several lives every day. “Prescription drug overdoses claim at least 40 lives daily” ("Prescription Drug Overdose," n.d.Para 1). The opioid crisis occurring across the nation is devastating. A major problem is that once patients become dependent on these prescription medications, they are reportedly seeking more affordable alternatives such as heroin or fentanyl. In addition, patients may be switching to heroin when their doctor suddenly discontinues the medication they have become dependent on. Chronic pain is a controversial issue because opioid management can be beneficial but also detrimental as seen in recent years. “Between 2002–2016, deaths soared by 533% nationwide, from under

It is used to treat chronic or acute pain. It works by inhibiting the chemical messengers called the prostaglandins. Prostaglandins help transmit pain signals, induce fever and promote inflammation of swelling of tissues, normally happens after an injury or illness. Acetaminophen helps by blocking the signals of pain to the body. Unlike NSAIDs it does not have an anti- inflammatory action. Acetaminophen is rapidly absorbed in the stomach and the small intestines. The therapeutic dose is 500mg every 4-6 hours. A single dose over one hundred and fifty mg/kg are considered toxic. Although most times it also depends on how often you take the medication and how often you accidently overdose. The statistic gives you some good idea of what we should be worried about. Acetaminophen toxicity can occur at any age. Most common in patients with chronic alcohol abuse or malnutrition. Children because of the incorrect weight and dosage given. Older teenager or adult patients will occur with intent to harm themselves. When it is ingested into the body, a normal dose is easily broken down through the liver enzymes and excreted through urine. However in large amounts it overwhelms the liver and it cannot be broken down as easy, thus killing the liver tissue. It is the most common cause of hepatic failure in adults, usually requiring a liver

drugs prevent the synthesis of prostaglandins, an enzyme, which are the body’s defence to injury.

Prescription and over-the-counter drug use in America has increased steeply over the past fifty years. This is a cause for concern. Too often, these medications only treat the symptoms and not the underlying cause of the disease. And they all come with dangerous side effects. Adverse drug reactions are America’s fourth leading cause of death. Do not assume that OTC medications are safe. They can cause serious adverse reactions on their own and also interact with prescribed drugs to increase risk.

Adverse drug events include adverse drug reactions (ADRs); drug-drug interactions due to uncertainty about the benefits and harms of simultaneous treatment; drug-disease interactions due to potential risk of worsening one condition by treating a co-existing one; improper drug election, sub- and supra-therapeutic dosage, noncompliance/failure to receive drug, and wrong drug (10, 13-16). Older adults are at increased risk for developing adverse drug events due to multiple concurrent diseases and physiological changes that occur as part of the ageing process, particularly, in pharmacokinetics (reduced renal elimination) and pharmacodynamics (increased sensitivity to certain medications) affecting drug disposition (10).

People who regularly take too much acetaminophen are the largest group of people hospitalized for acute liver failure. And, on average, one person in the United States dies every year from H20 intoxication, or drinking too much water. And yet, no armies have formed against aspirin, Tylenol or water.

Many people in America have overdosed on prescription drugs just by abusing them. Prescription drugs that are prescribed and sold in the United States has quadrupled the years. As a result of over prescribing leads to more abuse in the medication and/or more overdose deaths in America. But, however certain people may still need the medication to live and have a well functioning body but still abuse their prescription by taking more than instructed too and end up overdosing in the process of abuse. Many people in America don't even have to have the medication to be prescribed to them, some people just sell their prescription to random in their in the need of cash or if the other just wants something to make them feel good or relaxed. After just buying one pill, the buyer will the need to have more than just one pill, so they'll grow and addiction and start taking more than one at a time, which will lead to their

Ask a doctor or pharmacist before using any other cold, allergy, pain, or sleep medication. Acetaminophen (sometimes abbreviated as APAP) is contained in many combination medicines. Taking certain products together can cause you to get too much acetaminophen which can lead to a fatal overdose. Check the label to see if a medicine contains acetaminophen or APAP.

Looking at Jonathon’s labs, vital signs, and physical assessment, along with his recent admissions, I would diagnose him with acetaminophen induced hepatotoxicity. Patients with acute liver failure can present with symptoms such as fever, abdominal pain, fatigue, and anorexia (Lancaster, Hiatt, & Zarrinpar, 2015). Jonathon is presenting with fever and abdominal pain. His LFT indicate that acute liver failure is present. At his previous visit, I prescribed him to take the maximum dose of acetaminophen at 4g/day. Since Johnathon admits to taking several over the counter (OTC) brand medications it is possible he took Tylenol, which is the brand name for acetaminophen, and not realizing that he was overdosing. Acetaminophen can be found in many OTC medications. I would ask Johnathon for a complete list of all the OTC medications he was taking, or for him to remember as many as he could. His drinking is also a major concern. Large alcoholic beverage consumption in combination with high doses of acetaminophen can greatly affect the liver. At this point I would be extremely concerned for Jonathon’s health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched Prescription Drug Overdose: Prevention for States, a program to combat the ongoing prescription drug overdose epidemic in the US. $20 million will go to 16 states, providing the resources and expertise to prevent deaths caused by prescription drugs.

This method applies when the offending drug is administered and a single adverse drug event has taken place. Each adverse event is assessed independenty and assessment is prepared. One of the advantages of this algorithm is its transparency. However, certain levels of experience, expertise, and time is required to use this method