OA paracetamol risk
September 3, 2015
Many Australians with
osteoarthritis (OA) or other chronic
conditions may be putting their
health at risk by inadvertently
self administering too much
paracetamol in attempts to
manage their pain, according to a
University of Wollongong School
of Medicine study of 254 arthritis
patients published in The Journal of
Pharmacy Practice and Research.
Those most at risk, according to
the study, included patients with
low functional health literacy who
were not always able to recognise
paracetamol to be an active
ingredient in several prescription or
over-the-counter pharmaceutical
products.
Those described as at “even
greater risk” were those patients
who had borrowed or shared
their prescription and OTC pain
medications, the authors said.
Health professionals, especially
pharmacists and pharmacy staff
were identified in the study as
the ideal communicators to help
educate consumers about how
to identify the active ingredients,
maximum doses allowed and the
potential risks associated with
multiple combination paracetamol
products.
CLICK HERE to access the study.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 03 Sep 15To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 03 Sep 15
