Acetaminophen overdose in pregnancy.

Acetaminophen (APAP) is the most common drug overdose in pregnancy. Available data regarding APAP overdose in pregnancy is limited to case reports and a small prospective case series. APAP has been demonstrated to cross the placenta and in toxic doses may harm the fetal and maternal hepatocytes. Fetal hepatocytes metabolize APAP into both active and toxic metabolites. These toxic metabolites may cause fetal hepatic necrosis. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has also been demonstrated to cross the placenta and may bind toxic metabolites in both the mother and the fetus. Limited data suggest that the majority of morbidity and mortality from APAP overdose can be averted by initiation of NAC within the first 16 hours of ingestion and possibly even later. NAC may be safely administered during pregnancy and should be initiated early after APAP overdosage. The literature was reviewed through the use of OvidMEDLINE database, encompassing 1966 to the present. Searches were conducted using the key words acetaminophen, paracetamol, N-acetylcysteine, overdose, and hepatotoxicity. The search was further refined by selecting articles that contained these search words together with the key word pregnancy. Only English language papers were reviewed. Articles were selected on the basis of relevance to the topic. Pertinent citations found in the selected articles were also reviewed.

Safety issues regarding colonic cleansing for diagnostic and surgical procedures.

There are various methods available to cleanse the colon in preparation for diagnostic and surgical procedures. The popular options are diet and cathartic regimens, gut lavage and phosphate preparations. Each method has its own unique characteristics and safety profile. Diet and cathartic regimens are based on traditional methods of colonoscopy preparation and remain an acceptable and safe alternative for patients unwilling or unable to tolerate other bowel preparations. Gut lavage methods involve ingestion of 2-4L of osmotically balanced solutions containing polyethylene glycol, which have been shown to be safe and effective for colon cleansing, including for special patient populations with cardiac, renal or hepatic dysfunction. Phosphate preparations have also been shown to be safe and effective for colon cleansing and are generally better tolerated than counterpart gut lavage solutions. However, this method has safety concerns for some patients with cardiac, renal and hepatic dysfunctions.