Pentobarbital

Excerpt

Pentobarbital belongs to the barbiturate class of medications and is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for managing various medical conditions such as seizures, status epilepticus, and short-term treatment of insomnia. At low doses, approved indications of pentobarbital include short-term sedatives to treat insomnia and as a pre-anesthetic agent for surgery in the operating room. Pentobarbital primarily acts on the central nervous system (CNS). At elevated doses, pentobarbital functions as an anticonvulsant for emergent seizure control and for inducing medically induced comas. Studies have demonstrated the superiority of pentobarbital due to its faster brain penetration and shorter half-life, thereby making it the preferred treatment for refractory status epilepticus.