Understanding "Paracetamol 100ml Stat" Order
"Paracetamol 100ml stat" means administer a single 100ml vial of intravenous paracetamol (typically containing 1000mg/1g) immediately as a one-time dose. 1
Breaking Down the Order
"Stat" is a medical abbreviation from Latin "statim" meaning "immediately" or "at once"—this indicates the medication should be given right now, not scheduled for later. 2
"100ml" refers to the volume of the intravenous formulation, which is the standard presentation of IV paracetamol supplied as a 100ml glass vial containing 1000mg (1g) of paracetamol. 1
"Infusion" indicates this is given intravenously, not orally or rectally. 3
Administration Details
Standard Infusion Protocol
- The manufacturer recommends infusing over 15 minutes, though this is based on historical concerns from the prodrug formulation propacetamol used in Europe. 1
- Rapid infusion (median 3:41 minutes) has been shown safe in a retrospective study of 100 ambulatory surgical patients with no significant infusion-related side effects or complications. 1
- Only one patient experienced brief pain on infusion lasting 10 seconds, with no erythema at injection sites and no infusions requiring slowing or discontinuation. 1
Dosing Context
- The standard adult dose is 1g (1000mg), which is what a 100ml vial contains. 2, 3
- This can be repeated every 6 hours up to a maximum of 4g per day (four 1g doses). 2
- For emergency laparotomy patients, regular dosing of 15mg/kg every 6 hours (maximum 4g per 24 hours) is recommended as part of multimodal analgesia. 2
Clinical Considerations
When This Order is Appropriate
- Management of mild to moderate pain (WHO Step I analgesics for pain scores 1-4). 2
- Reduction of fever in surgical or medical patients. 1
- Part of multimodal analgesia to reduce opioid consumption in perioperative settings. 2
Important Safety Parameters
- Maximum daily dose is 4g (4000mg) in healthy adults—this single 1g dose represents 25% of the daily maximum. 2, 3
- For patients with liver disease or cirrhosis, reduce maximum to 2-3g per day, so subsequent doses must be carefully calculated. 2, 4
- For chronic alcohol users or malnourished patients, use 2g per day maximum due to depleted glutathione stores. 4
Common Pitfall to Avoid
Do not confuse this with an overdose scenario—a single 1g dose is therapeutic, not toxic. Toxicity concerns arise with single ingestions exceeding 10g or repeated doses exceeding 4g per day in healthy adults. 4 The plasma concentration after a 2g dose (67.9±21.8 μg/ml) remains far below toxic thresholds. 5