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Cases

Tablets over two days

A 19-year-old with toothache mentions, almost in passing, how much paracetamol she has actually taken.

19-year-old womanED, cubicle 2Fictitious educational patient
Dental abscess awaiting extractionNo regular medications

Day 0 · 17:30

Arrival

She presents with nausea and a day of vague right-sided abdominal discomfort. The toothache backstory emerges: pain for four days, and 'quite a lot' of paracetamol. Counting packets together: roughly 28 tablets of 500 mg spread over the last 48 hours, the last two about six hours ago. She is tearful about the tooth, denies wanting to harm herself.

Vitals

HR92BP118/70RR16SpO299%T36.9

Which feature of this history most changes how the overdose is assessed?

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