Paracetamol - Available Forms

Available Forms

See also: List of paracetamol brand names Panadol 500 mg tablets

Paracetamol is available in a tablet, capsule, liquid suspension, suppository, intravenous, and intramuscular form. The common adult dose is 500 mg to 1000 mg. The recommended maximum daily dose, for adults, is 4000 mg. In recommended doses, paracetamol is generally safe for children and infants, as well as for adults, although rare cases of acute liver injury have been linked to amounts lower than 2500 mg per day.

Panadol, which is marketed in Africa, Asia, Europe, Central America, and Australasia, is the most widely available brand of paracetamol, sold in over 80 countries. In North America, paracetamol is sold in generic form (usually labeled as acetaminophen) or under a number of trade names, for instance, Tylenol (McNeil-PPC, Inc.), Anacin-3, Tempra, Datril, and Ofirmev. While there is brand named paracetamol available in the UK (e.g. Panadol), unbranded or generic paracetamol is more commonly sold. Acamol, a brand name for paracetamol produced by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in Israel, is one of the most widely used drugs in that country. In the Philippines, the largest-selling paracetamol brand is Biogesic, manufactured by the drug giant United Laboratories. Biogesic tablet sales reach nearly a billion units each year in the country alone, not including liquid suspension formats. The brand is also available in most of the ASEAN countries where the drug giant has market presence. In Europe, the most common brands of paracetamol are Efferalgan and Doliprane. In India, the most common brand of paracetamol is Crocin manufactured by Glaxo SmithKline Asia. In Bangladesh the most popular two brand are Napa and Renova manufactured by Beximco Pharma and Opsonin Pharma respectively. In China paracetamol is sold over the counter as Duìyǐxiān'ānjīfēn Piàn (对乙酰氨基酚片). Likewise in Japan it is sold under the name Acetaminophen (アセトアミノフェン Asetoaminofen). In North Korea the DPRK-Swiss joint venture PyongSu Pharma markets the drug as PyongSu Cetamol.

In some formulations, paracetamol is combined with the opioid codeine, sometimes referred to as co-codamol (BAN). In the United States and Canada, this is marketed under the name of Tylenol #1/2/3/4, which contain 8–10 mg, 15 mg, 30 mg, and 60 mg of codeine, respectively. In the U.S., this combination is available only by prescription, while the lowest-strength preparation is over-the-counter in Canada, and, in other countries, other strengths may be available over the counter. There are generic forms of these combinations as well. In the UK and in many other countries, this combination is marketed under the names of Tylex CD and Panadeine. Other names include Captin, Disprol, Dymadon, Fensum, Hedex, Mexalen, Nofedol, Panocod, Paralen, Pediapirin, Perfalgan, and Solpadeine. Paracetamol is also combined with other opioids such as dihydrocodeine, referred to as co-dydramol (BAN), oxycodone or hydrocodone, marketed in the U.S. as Percocet and Vicodin, respectively. Another very commonly used analgesic combination includes paracetamol in combination with propoxyphene napsylate, sold under the brand name Darvocet. A combination of paracetamol, codeine, and the calmative doxylamine succinate is marketed as Syndol or Mersyndol. The efficacy of paracetamol/codeine combinations have been questioned by recent research.

Paracetamol is commonly used in multi-ingredient preparations for migraine headache, typically including butalbital and paracetamol with or without caffeine, and sometimes containing codeine.