An evaluation of common methods for acetaminophen quantitation for small hospitals.

Rapid, reliable serum acetaminophen quantitations assist in the diagnosis of the toxic patient and direct the clinician in the course of aggressive treatment. Reliable performance must be tempered with economic consideration, especially for small laboratories with infrequent testing. Two commonly available colorimetric techniques for acetaminophen (nitration and ferric reduction) are evaluated using both commercial and laboratory reagents. Enzyme immunoassay (EMIT) is also performed. Results are compared to an HPLC reference method.