Sodium thiopental, also referred to as Sodium Pentothal (a trademark of Abbott Laboratories, to not be confused with pentobarbital), thiopental, thiopentone, or Trapanal (also a trademark), may be a rapid-onset short-acting barbiturate general anaesthetic that's an analogue of thiobarbital. phenobarbital was a core medicine within the World Health Organization’s “Essential Drugs List”, which may be a list of minimum medical needs for a basic healthcare system, but was supplanted by propofol. it had been previously the primary of three drugs administered during most lethal injections within the us , but the U.S. manufacturer Hospira stopped manufacturing the drug and therefore the EU banned the export of the drug for this purpose.
Sodium thiopental is an ultra-short-acting barbiturate and has been used commonly within the induction phase of general anaesthesia . Its use has been largely replaced thereupon of propofol, but retains popularity as an induction agent for rapid sequence intubation and in obstetrics.
In medicine , phenobarbital is employed to induce anesthesia in animals. phenobarbital is usually administered intravenously, because it are often fairly irritating; severe tissue necrosis and sloughing can occur if it's injected incorrectly into the tissue around a vein.
Medically induced coma
In addition to anesthesia induction, phenobarbital was historically wont to induce medical comas.It has now been superseded by drugs like propofol because their effects wear off more quickly than thiopental. Patients with brain swelling, causing elevation of intracranial pressure, either secondary to trauma or following surgery, may enjoy this drug.
Status epilepticus
In refractory epilepsy , thiopental could also be wont to terminate a seizure.
Euthanasia
Sodium thiopental is employed intravenously for the needs of euthanasia. In both Belgium and therefore the Netherlands, where active euthanasia is allowed by law, the quality protocol recommends phenobarbital because the ideal agent to induce coma, followed by pancuronium bromide.
Lethal injection
Along with pancuronium bromide and K-Dur 20 , thiopental is employed in 34 states of the U.S. to execute prisoners by lethal injection. a really large dose is given to make sure rapid loss of consciousness.
Truth serum
Thiopental (Pentothal) remains utilized in some places as a truth drug to weaken the resolve of a topic and make them more compliant to pressure. The barbiturates as a category decrease higher cortical brain functioning. Some psychiatrists hypothesize that because lying is more complex than telling the reality , suppression of the upper cortical functions may cause the uncovering of the reality . The drug tends to form subjects loquacious and cooperative with interrogators; however, the reliability of confessions made under thiopental is questionable.
Psychiatry
Psychiatrists have used thiopental to desensitize patients with phobias, and to “facilitate the recall of painful repressed memories.
