The recommended dosing has a low risk profile when taken occasionally in a well hydrated state. As with all medications containing paracetamol (acetaminophen), concomitant use with alcohol carries a significant risk of hepatotoxicity.[2] The combination of paracetamol with aspirin also creates the risk of renal papillary necrosis if large doses are taken chronically. This is because paracetamol yields a toxic metabolite that can accumulate in the kidney while aspirin works to deplete the glutathione stores necessary to oxidize it. Additionally, chronic aspirin usage is associated with increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding.[3]
Chemical detection
The combination of these three compounds can be detected in pharmaceutical formulations, urine and blood serum in trace quantities using electrochemical methods.[4]
Society and culture
Brand names
The combination was first introduced as the name Trigesic, as the formula of 125 mg paracetamol, 230 mg aspirin, and 30 mg caffeine, in July 1950 by Squibb, which is now Bristol Myers Squibb, but was recalled in the following year due to several reports that the drug might cause blood dyscrasia.[5] In 1964 it was marketed under the trade name Vanquish by Sterling Drug,[citation needed] which after a series of mergers and acquisitions became a unit of Bayer AG.[6]
In the UK it is sold as Anadin Extra. In Germany, it is sold as dolomo, Dolopyrin AL, HA-Tabletten, Melabon K, Neuralgin, ratiopyrin, Thomapyrin Classic, Thomapyrin Intensiv,[7] in Austria as Thomapyrin, and InfluASS, in Israel as Acamol Focus, Paramol Target and Exidol, in Romania as Antinevralgic P [8] and Antinevralgic Forte,[9] and in Russia, Belarus and Eastern Europe as Citramon.[10]
^Sanghavi BJ, Srivastava AK (2010). "Simultaneous voltammetric determination of acetaminophen, aspirin and caffeine using an in situ surfactant-modified multiwalled carbon nanotube paste electrode". Electrochimica Acta. 55 (28): 8638–8648. doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2010.07.093.
^Spooner, J. B., & Harvey, J. G. (1976). The history and usage of paracetamol. Journal of International Medical Research, 4(4_suppl), 1-6.