Awareness, acceptability and application of paracetamol overdose management guidelines in a New Zealand emergency department.

Aim: To measure emergency physicians' awareness, acceptance, access to and application of the Australasian Paracetamol Overdose Guidelines.

Methods: A retrospective record review of 100 consecutive presentations with the complaint of paracetamol overdose to the Dunedin Hospital Emergency Department, New Zealand, from 1 December 2011 to 31 December 2012, with: comparison of management to that recommended by the Guidelines, analysis of access to both an Internet poisons information resource and the New Zealand National Poisons Centre, survey of clinical staff opinion of the Guidelines and, comparison of actual and recommended management costs at commercial laboratory rates and with application of the WHO-CHOICE unit cost estimates for service delivery.

Results: Response rate to the survey was 92.