Treatment of poisoning by antidepressant drugs

LJU"RNAL response to specific therapy, even when large numbers of tablets are consumed.On the other hand, experience of para- cetamol poisoning is very limited, but acute liver necrosis and death feature prominently in recorded cases."Indeed, the manufacturers of one brand of paracetamol, very responsibly, give in their brochure information relating to a 13-year- old girl who died after taking 30 tablets.Post-mortem examination revealed massive diffuse toxic necrosis of the liver.The onset of liver disease in paracetamol poisoning may be delayed several days, and it is possible that survival from serious intoxication may be complicated by residual liver damage.The toxic effect of 50 aspirin tablets, a com- mon overdose, is very much less than those that might arise from ingestion of a similar number of paracetamol tablets.Moreover, there is no adequate therapy for this type of poisoning.Should the advice of your leader be accepted and paracetamol become as readily available as aspirin is at present, a greatly increased incidence of paracetamol over- dosage is inevitable.We consider that the resulting mortality and morbidity would be greater than that from aspirin poisoning, and certainly would not warrant acceptance of the change you have so strongly advocated.-Weare, etc.,