The drug paracetamol (N-acetyl-p-aminophenol; acetaminophen) caused a spurious increase in serum uric acid measured by phosphotungstic acid reduction methods. However, the increase was less than 0·12 mmol/l at plasma levels of paracetamol found in overdosage (40 mg/100 ml) and was small at therapeutic concentrations (less than 4 mg/100 ml). It is concluded that few patients with joint pain who have taken paracetamol as an analgesic will have clinically misleading values for serum uric acid.
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