Drug Screen for Acetaminophen

A novel, rapid point-of-care (POC) diagnostic test detects acetaminophen in urine. Called Triage TOX drug screen, the test has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Overdose from acetaminophen is the leading cause for calls to the U.S. Poison Control Centers and is estimated to represent 5% (275,000) of the 5.2 million U.S. total toxic exposures annually. Acetaminophen is one of the most widely used analgesics in the world and is found in more than 100 common over-the-counter and prescription products. While the drug has an excellent safety profile, toxicity can occur after intentional overdose or acute ingestion of 150-250 mg per kg of body weight.

According to the U.S. National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry guidelines, every patient suspected of intentional drug ingestion should be screened for acetaminophen in one hour or less,” noted Ken Buechler, Ph.D., president and chief scientific officer of Biosite Incorporated (San Diego, CA, USA), which developed the test.
"Because the Triage TOX drug screen uses the Triage MeterPlus platform, which produces results in approximately 15 minutes at the point of care, we believe it can improve turnaround time for acetaminophen.”

The company is offering three different combinations of analytes to cover the eight major classes of drugs. The tests will be available in English-speaking countries worldwide and in other countries upon approval by local regulatory agencies.






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