FDA Group Issues Cautions on Acetaminophen Overdose

Commonly Used Pain Drug Poses Serious Danger in Certain Cases, FDA Says

By DAN CHILDS and LAUREN COX

When Antonio Benedi of Springfield, Va., felt a case of the flu coming on one weekend in February 1993, he did what millions of others do -- he reached for a common over-the-counter pain medication.

"I was taking Tylenol like I was supposed to, by the label," he said.

A few days later the then 37-year-old Benedi was in a coma and in desperate need of a liver transplant.

Benedi, like hundreds of Americans each year, experienced acute liver failure as a result of taking acetaminophen, the most commonly used painkiller in the country today. Many of these cases are due to either intentional or unintentional overdose. Past research also suggests that combining the medication with alcoholic beverages increases the risk of liver damage.

But Benedi, who was formerly a special assistant to President George H.W. Bush, said that while he did take the medicine on a mostly empty stomach, he neither overdosed on acetaminophen, nor had an alcoholic beverage while he was taking the drug. He said he did occasionally enjoy a glass of wine, but never while taking acetaminophen.