g. 1000 mg every 8 hours to stay within the maximum daily dose as recommended in the McNeil guideline) may

cause individuals with pain or fever to be subject to therapeutic failure in the latter part of their dosing regimen. Another potential source of confusion exists if a health care PLX-4720 supplier provider, such as a pharmacist, nurse or physician, understands that the McNeil changes are voluntary and recommends the traditional monograph-approved dosing regimen of up to 4000 selleck chemicals llc mg daily, thus creating confusion among uninformed health care providers and the general public as to what is a therapeutic and safe dose of acetaminophen. To paraphrase Paracelsus, “the dose differentiates a remedy from a poison” and the 4000 mg dose has been established as both safe and effective. Does the new lower dosing, as recommended by the industry leader, suggest that doses in excess of 3000 mg are no longer safe? If more than 3000 mg is administered

in a 24-hour period, will a hospital be obliged to complete a medication safety error report? Will consumers contact poison centers or their health care providers when they determine that they have exceeded the ‘new’ 3000 mg maximum daily dose, leading to even more confusion when they are informed that only daily doses that exceed 4000 mg in adults are considered excessive? Complicating the dilemma will be the inevitability that patients will receive conflicting advice when they speak to multiple caregivers. The voluntary decision to reduce pentoxifylline the maximum daily dose of acetaminophen may exert undue pressure on the generic acetaminophen manufacturers to adjust their dosing recommendations accordingly, despite the fact that there is no evidence basis for selleck changing the

traditional dosing regimen. Ultimately, this may result in inadequate pain relief and confusion, and may not produce the anticipated reduction in the number of acetaminophen-related emergency department visits and the associated morbidity and mortality. The fact remains that nearly 70% of acetaminophen-related emergency department visits result from self-directed violence such as suicide attempts;[7] a change in dosing strategies is unlikely to have an impact on self-harm incidents. Furthermore, considering the astronomical figure that over 25 billion doses of acetaminophen are used annually by the American public, the toxicity signal related to acetaminophen is extraordinarily low and is further evidence that the traditional dosing regimen of acetaminophen is safe. Which is the correct dose of acetaminophen: 3000 mg if 500 mg tablets are used, 3250 mg with 325 mg tablets, or 3900 mg when 650 mg arthritis-strength products are used? The pessimistic viewpoint is that the likely consequence of changing from the traditional daily maximum acetaminophen dose of 4000 mg will be an onslaught of confused patients and fellow health care professionals! Acknowledgments Conflicts of interest: Dr Krenzelok is a paid consultant to Cadence Pharmaceuticals.