Paracetemol poisoning: updated guidelines with A/Prof Anselm Wong

A/Prof Anselm Wong and co-authors have recently published an update to the Australian and New Zealand guidelines for the management of paracetamol overdose in the Medical Journal of Australia.

A/Professor Wong, a clinical toxicologist and emergency physician with the Centre for Integrate Critical Care, and one of the lead authors on the paper, says the new guidelines will help improve patient care and simplify treatment.

He stated "The updated guidelines have been based upon collaborative multicentre studies undertaken throughout Australia. The new 2 bag acetylcysteine treatment regimen simplifies treatment, decreases the number of adverse reactions to the antidote, and has similar efficacy to the 3 bag regimen used for four decades”.

This updated treatment regimen is increasingly being adopted internationally.

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