by Dr Pandula Siribaddana

Created on: September 03, 2010

What is Acetadote?

Acetadote is a brand of drug which contains the active ingredient Acetylcysteine and is used as an antedote (and thus the name) for overdosing following ingestions of Acetaminophen. Thus, Acetadote will protect the liver from acetaminophen but in order for it to be effective; Acetadote should ideally be given within 8 – 10 hours from the time of ingestion. But, in case the time of ingestion is not known accurately and it is suspected that the ingestion might have taken within 24 hours, it is possible to administer this drug although its effectiveness would be doubted.

The drug will usually be given as an intravenous injection and should be repeated till the blood levels of acetaminophen is below the toxic levels. Therefore, it is imperative that the blood levels are monitored from time to time and such assessment starts prior to administering Acetadote by taking a blood sample from the patient.

What are the side effects of Acetadote?

Even though this drug is life saving in Acetaminophen overdose, it can show certain side effects of which some might even be life threatening itself. But, it should be remembered that, in acute overdose of acetaminophen, unless the patient is allergic to Acetadote, the benefits of giving the drug would far out weight its side effects and therefore, giving the drug within the stipulated time period would be vital to save the patient’s life.

When considering the side effects, allergic reactions would come to the forefront, not because they are common, but because they can be deadly serious and is a possibility with many medications that we come across. Therefore, the presence of an itch, appearance of hives, swelling of the lips, face, tongue and the throat, breathing difficulties or the appearance of a wheeze…etc should be taken in seriously and immediate medical attention should be sorted.

Apart from the allergic reactions, some of the other side effects which should be considered serious would include, eye pain, fainting, troubled walking, rectal bleeding and severe headache following increased pressure buildup within the skull which will require urgent medical attention, if noticed.

Some of the other minor side effects which can precipitate following the use of Acetadote include, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, upset stomach, cough, increased sweating as well as flushing. But, even though these are considered minor, if they persist to be a problem, one should seek medical advice for relief as soon as possible.

Lastly, it should be mentioned that, this is not a complete list of side effects following use of Acetadote and thus the readers are advised to refer the manufacturers’ literature in order to derive a more detailed list of Acetadote related side effects.

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