Table 5.
Comparison of viewers and non-viewers of Casualty who presented with overdoses before and after broadcast of index episode. Values are numbers (percentages) of those who responded to question unless stated otherwise
| Non-viewers
|
Viewers
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 weeks before broadcast (n=375) | 3 weeks after broadcast (n=346) | 3 weeks before broadcast (n=71) | 3 weeks after broadcast (n=69) | Percentage change (95% CI) in 3 weeks after broadcast compared with 3 weeks before; P value of difference* | ||
| Method of overdose: | ||||||
| Pure paracetamol | 114/371 (31) | 124/339 (37) | 17/71 (24) | 34/69 (49) | 106 (28 to 232); P=0.003 | |
| Pure paracetamol or paracetamol compound | 193/371 (52) | 179/339 (53) | 34/70 (49) | 38/69 (55) | 13 (−12 to 56); P=0.5 | |
| Pure paracetamol or knew paracetamol was in compound | 164/186 (88) | 148/172 (86) | 26/31 (84) | 36/38 (95) | 13 (−5 to 34); P=0.2 | |
| Delay from paracetamol overdose to presentation (hours): | ||||||
| <6 | 139 (74) | 127 (74) | 28 (85) | 28 (74) | ||
| 6-12 | 23 (12) | 22 (13) | 2 (6) | 5 (13) | χ2 test, P=0.3 | |
| >12 | 26 (14) | 21 (13) | 3 (9) | 5 (13) | ||
| Overdose history: | ||||||
| Previous overdose | 188/363 (52) | 160/329 (49) | 41/71 (58) | 35/67 (52) | −10 (−33 to 23); P=0.6 | |
| Previous overdose included paracetamol | 95/146 (65) | 88/122 (72) | 27/35 (77) | 26/32 (81) | 5 (−18 to 35); P=0.8 | |
*
P values calculated with Fisher’s exact test except where indicated otherwise.