New Study Probes Risks Related to Acetaminophen Use

Prof. Zhang

“Although the incidence of acetaminophen side effects may be lower than that of NSAIDs and COX 2 inhibitors,” the authors said, “their side effect profiles are similar, which reflects the now recognized COX inhibitory effect of acetaminophen. These data further challenge whether acetaminophen should be retained as the first-line oral analgesic, especially in older people for common chronic painful conditions, given its non-clinically meaningful benefits and potential harms, and support the recent recommendation by NICE to not use acetaminophen for OA.”

Future research should focus on confirming these findings and developing a safer pain reliever for older adults, says study author Professor Weiya Zhang, BMed, MMed, PhD, who is with the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre in the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham.

Vanessa Caceres is a medical writer in Bradenton, Fla.

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