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Paracetamol is an analgesic and antipyretic agent which was first marketed for use as a drug in the U.K. in 1956. It has since become popular with the medical profession and the general public as an alternative to aspirin.

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Fifteen patients who were severely poisoned with either hypnotic drugs or salicylate were treated by charcoal haemoperfusion. The device contained 100g of activated charcoal immobilised by fixation to a polyester film. Two patients showed no response and eventually died. The remainder showed marked lightening of coma and recovered uneventfully. Complications of platelet loss and, in one patient, fibrinolysis were observed, but these had no serious consequences. No significant biochemical disturbances occurred with the exception of one patient who presented with hypocalcaemia and required intravenous calcium throughout the treatment. Drug clearance values were comparable with those obtained with columns containing 300 g of acrylic polymer coated charcoal.

Dogs were given large doses of barbiturates, glutethimide, ethanol, methaqualone, ethchlorvynol, meprobamate, chloral hydrate, paracetamol and aspirin. These were treated by haemoperfusion using a column packed with charcoal coated with an acrylic hydrogel. Clearances for most drugs were significantly higher than those reported for haemodialysis. Minimal clearances of common biochemical entities were observed and although leucocyte and platelet counts were diminished, no deleterious effects attributable to this were encountered. Careful histological examination of tissues derived from perfused dogs revealed no evidence of charcoal emboli.