Still dealing with paracetamol overdoses: epidemiology and quality of data collected in the Scottish health system from 2010 to 2023

Abstract

Despite the legislation implemented in the UK in 1998 on paracetamol pack restriction, overdoses remain high. In this work, data on Accident and Emergency (A&E) (2020–2023) attendances for paracetamol overdoses collected via Freedom of Information requests have been investigated. Additionally, hospital admissions (2010–2021) for paracetamol overdoses obtained from Public Health Scotland have been preliminary analyzed to understand the phenomenon within the Scottish community. Data on A&E attendances provided were limited and showed discrepancies amongst the different Scottish Health Boards for type, quality and amount of data recorded, thus preventing accurate figures. Overall, average number of absolute hospital admission was ⁓5800 per year, with the highest numbers in 2013, 2019, and 2021. When admissions were population-adjusted (with population data from National Records of Scotland), they revealed a different trend. From 2017 onward, smaller Health Boards exhibited higher rates than the larger ones. There is an urgent need for streamlined publicly accessible data and harmonized data collection across Health Boards. This approach would ultimately lead to the development of tailored, new interventions (or the adaptation of existing ones) to promote safe use of paracetamol.