Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients in acetaminophen and placebo groups
| Acetaminophen group (n = 308) | Placebo group (n = 135) | p-value* | |
| Age: | |||
| Mean ± SD | 43 ± 9 | 44 ± 8 | 0.399 |
| Range | 18–72 | 20–65 | |
| Male (%) | 284 (92) | 128 (95) | 0.322 |
| Ethnic Origin (%): | |||
| Caucasian | 156 (51) | 68 (50) | 0.830 |
| Hispanic | 45 (15) | 22 (16) | |
| African Descent | 49 (16) | 16 (12) | |
| Native American | 43 (14) | 23 (17) | |
| Other | 15 (5) | 6 (4) | |
| Body Mass Index: | |||
| Mean ± SD | 25 ± 5 | 25 ± 4 | |
| Range | 15–55 | 17–39 | |
| Breath alcohol level at presentation to detoxification site: | 0.711 | ||
| Mean ± SD | 0.161 ± 0.093 | 0.157 ± 0.099 | |
| Range | 0.001–0.710 | 0.001–0.550 | |
| Self-reported alcoholic (%) | 301 (98) | 133 (99) | 0.729 |
| Duration of most recent drinking binge: | |||
| < 1 week | 56 (18) | 22 (16) | 0.193 |
| 1–4 weeks | 98 (32) | 36 (27) | |
| > 1 month | 154 (50) | 76 (56) | |
| Not reported | 0 (0) | 1 (1) | |
| CAGE (no. of yes answers; mean ± SD) | 3.3 ± 0.9 | 3.3 ± 0.9 | 0.645 |
| Alanine aminotransferase: | |||
| mg/dL | 49 ± 38 | 47 ± 37 | 0.398 |
| Range | 4–189 | 8–175 | |
| Aspartate aminotransferase: | |||
| IU/L | 55 ± 39 | 55 ± 38 | 0.650 |
| Range | 6–198 | 12–194 | |
| International normalized ratio: | 0.652 | ||
| INR | 0.96 ± 0.09 | 0.96 ± 0.09 | |
| Range | 0.79–1.40 | 0.80–1.30 | |
| Albumin: | 0.589 | ||
| g/dl | 3.94 ± 0.45 | 3.93 ± 0.37 | |
| Range | 2.1–4.8 | 2.8–4.0 | |
| Total bilirubin: | |||
| mg/dL | 0.74 ± 0.53 | 0.68 ± 0.45 | 0.286 |
| Range | 0.1–4.1 | 0.1–2.8 | |
| Gamma glutamyl transferase: | |||
| IU/L | 161 ± 308 | 168 ± 274 | 0.799 |
| Range | 9.0–3492 | 12.0–1893 |
*Standardized values based upon upper limit of normal were used to calculate p-values.
Normal ranges for Denver and Seattle sites are as follows. Alanine aminotransferase: Denver, ALT 5–40 mg/dL male, 5–36 mg/dL female; Seattle, 0–50 IU/L and 2–60 IU/L male, 2–40 IU/L female. Aspartate aminotransferases: Denver, 9–36 IU/L; Seattle: 0–50 IU/L and 2–50 IU/L male, 2–35 IU/L female (both). International normalized ratio: Denver, 0.82–1.17; Seattle, 0.9–1.1. Total bilirubin: Denver, 0.2–1.2 mg/dL; Seattle: 0.1–1.2 mg/dL and 0.2–1.5 mg/dL male, 0.2–1.3 mg/dl female. Gamma glutamyl transferase: Denver, 6–50 IU/L; Seattle: 5–105 IU/L male, 2–98 IU/L female and 2–80 IU/L male, 2–60 IU/L female. Albumin: Denver, 3.4–5.5 g/dl; Seattle, 3.3–5.0 and 3.5–4.9 g/dl