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in collaboration with
Dr. Yves Dour (Doctor in Pharmacy)
Medical validation:
November 04, 2022
The ANSM, the College of General Medicine and the pharmacists’ unions want the French to “moderate” their consumption of paracetamol in order to limit possible stock-outs throughout the territory.
As winter and seasonal viruses approach, the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM), the College of General Medicine (CMG) and the pharmacists’ unions (FSPF and USPO) have made recommendations for doctors, pharmacists and patients. The goal? Moderate the use of paracetamol.
Paracetamol: patients who need it most are given priority
To secure stocks and meet all needs, the ANSM recommends that all French people:
- Do not build up a stock of paracetamol (unless there is an immediate need);
- Opt for a quantity of paracetamol lower than that which appears on the prescription (this is called the adapted dispensation).
These measures, the objective of which is “to optimize the production of paracetamol“over the entire territory and allow “patients who have an immediate need to benefit from it“, should make it possible to meet demand this winter.
The ANSM, the College of General Medicine (CMG) and the pharmacists’ unions (FSPF and USPO) want to be rather reassuring on this subject:
“Lhe production and deliveries of paracetamol have been adjusted to allow a safe and continuous supply throughout the territory”.
The company UPSA, moreover, reported this Thursday, October 20 more than a month of stocks available in pharmacies on average, for the brands of paracetamol Dafalgan and Efferalgan (source: GERS).
“The current state of stocks makes it possible to guarantee the complete availability of these references to pharmacists, wholesalers and hospital customers..”, she says.
For Dr. Dour, this observation should be qualified.
“We are already encountering stock shortages for several months. The Sanofi laboratories which produce paracetamol 24 hours a day, 7 days a week cannot meet the constantly increasing demand”, reveals the pharmacist, before adding “The French must be reasonable in their consumption and not throw themselves on this medicine, as some do with rice, flour or even sugar. Anyway, even by rushing to the pharmacy, they will not have any no more today than tomorrow“.
Professionals are also concerned
The new recommendations issued by the ANSM also concern pharmacists, who must now regulate the quantities dispensed. Thus, the organization recommends:
- Limit dispensing to two boxes per patient in the absence of a prescription;
- Favor prescription dispensing;
- Ask patients about their condition and adapt the dispensation to their real needs (especially when prescribing a large quantity of paracetamol);
- Limit the online sale of paracetamol;
- In the absence of a prescription, ask patients for their agreement to record paracetamol dispensations in their pharmaceutical file.
Upstream, doctors also have a role to play. They must thus prescribe a dosage of three doses per day every 8 hours (instead of four doses per day every 6 hours) – when the patient’s condition allows it.
This painkiller must be used wisely, punctually and respecting its dosage.
In adults, the maximum recommended dose in the absence of medical advice is 1 gram per dose, 3 times a day, spaced at least 6 hours apart. Beyond that, it can be toxic and cause serious liver damage.
To avoid an overdose, it is also necessary to think of checking its other treatments, because more than 200 drugs contain paracetamol (alone or associated with other substances).