Acetaminophen Overdose Leading Liver Failure Cause
(NY, Reuters Health, 12/16/02)

Every year, 2,000 Americans experience acute liver failure, which is the sudden, severe shutdown of liver function. When Dr. William M. Lee of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and team examined the data for 308 people who had suffered acute liver failure during the years 1998 to 2001, the researchers found that an overdose of acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol and many other over-the-counter pain medications, was implicated in 39% of the cases.