Intravenous Paracetamol (Acetaminophen)

Authors:
  • LSLesley J. Scott
    Lesley J. Scott
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Abstract
▴ Intravenous paracetamol (rINN)/intravenous acetaminophen (USAN) is an analgesic and antipyretic agent, recommended worldwide as a first-line agent for the treatment of pain and fever in adults and children. ▴ In double-blind clinical trials, single or multiple doses of intravenous paracetamol 1 g generally provided significantly better analgesic efficacy than placebo treatment (as determined by primary efficacy endpoints) in adult patients who had undergone dental, orthopaedic or gynaecological surgery. ▴ Furthermore, where evaluated, intravenous paracetamol 1 g generally showed similar analgesic efficacy to a bioequivalent dose of propacetamol, and a reduced need for opioid rescue medication. ▴ In paediatric surgical patients, recommended doses of intravenous paracetamol 15 mg/kg were not significantly different from propacetamol 30 mg/kg for the treatment of pain, and showed equivocal analgesic efficacy compared with intramuscular pethidine 1 mg/kg in several randomized, active comparator-controlled studies. ▴ In a randomized, noninferiority study in paediatric patients with an infection-induced fever, intravenous paracetamol 15 mg/kg treatment was shown to be no less effective than propacetamol 30 mg/kg in terms of antipyretic efficacy. ▴ Intravenous paracetamol was well tolerated in clinical trials, having a tolerability profile similar to placebo. Additionally, adverse reactions emerging from the use of the intravenous formulation of paracetamol are extremely rare (<1/10000).

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