Ireland and the UK have higher rates of paracetamol overdoses resulting in acute liver failure leading to registration for transplantation (ALFT) compared to other European countries, according to the results of the SALT study published in . British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
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The SALT study identified 600 cases of ALFT between 2005 and 2007 at 52 liver transplant centers in seven European countries: France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, including 114 cases. was associated with overdose. Among cases involving overdose, 111 cases (97%) were related to paracetamol.
On average, for every 167 tonnes of paracetamol sold, there was one paracetamol overdose resulting in ALFT. However, the risk varies significantly between countries, with one ALFT event for every 20.7 tonnes of paracetamol sold in Ireland, compared to one for every 1,074 tonnes sold in Italy, a 50-fold difference.
Both Ireland and the UK had a significantly higher relative risk of ALFT associated with overdose per tonne of paracetamol sold, with 8.07 times and 1.67 times higher in Ireland and the UK, respectively, compared to all countries pooled. The number of cases was
The per capita rates of overdose-related ALFT also varied widely. Ireland had the highest infection rate with one case per 286,000 people per year, Greece and Portugal had zero cases per 10 million inhabitants over three years, and Italy had one case per 10 million inhabitants over three years. There was one infected person per day.
“The reasons for these differences are unknown, but may provide clues for prevention,” the researchers concluded.
