Prevalence of Patients with the Risk of Receiving Overdosed Paracetamol from Dosage Instruction in a 250 bed Hospital in the South

Abstract

Objective: To determine period prevalence rate of patients with the risk of receiving overdosed paracetamol from dosage instruction. Methods: The study was a cross sectional descriptive study conducted during January 1 to June 30, 2015 in a secondary hospital with 250 beds in the South. The researchers collected the data from the electronic medical record (HOSxP) of randomly selected patients receiving prescriptions with 500 mg paracetamol tablets for self-administration at home. Risk of paracetamol overdose from dosage instruction included that from overdose per administration (>15 mg/Kg per administration) or overdose per day (>4000 mg per day). Results: There were 95 subjects with 54 males, average age of 44.4+22.0 years old and 42 with bodyweight in the range of 51-60 kilograms. The research indicates that the prevalence of patients with the risk of receiving overdosed paracetamol (either overdose per administration or overdose per day) was 26.3% (25 subjects). Twenty-three of these patients were prescribed paracetamol to be taken 2 tablets every 4-6 hours (92.0% of those with the risk). Bodyweight of 16 patients with the risk (76.2%) ranged from 51 to 60 kilograms. Conclusion: Prescribers of paracetamol should take patients’ bodyweight into consideration to avoid the risk of receiving overdosed drug either overdose per administration or overdose per day which may increase the risk of hepatotoxicity.