Phenobarbital, also known as phenobarbitone or phenobarb, sold under the brand name Luminal among others, is a medication of the barbiturate type.[4] It is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the treatment of certain types of epilepsy in developing countries.[6] In the developed world, it is commonly used to treat seizures in young children,[7] while other medications are generally used in older children and adults.[8] In developed countries it is used for veterinary purposes.[9] It may be used intravenously, injected into a muscle, or taken by mouth.[4] The injectable form may be used to treat status epilepticus.[4] Phenobarbital is occasionally used to treat trouble sleeping, anxiety, and drug withdrawal and to help with surgery.[4] It usually begins working within five minutes when used intravenously and half an hour when administered by mouth.[4] Its effects last for between four hours and two days.[4][5]
Side effects include a decreased level of consciousness along with a decreased effort to breathe.[4] There is concern about both abuse and withdrawal following long-term use.[4] It may also increase the risk of suicide.[4] It is pregnancy category B or D (depending on how it is taken) in the United States and category D in Australia, meaning that it may cause harm when taken by pregnant women.[4][10] If used during breastfeeding it may result in drowsiness in the baby.[11] A lower dose is recommended in those with poor liver or kidney function, as well as elderly people.[4] Phenobarbital, like other barbiturates works by increasing the activity of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA.[4]
Phenobarbital was discovered in 1912 and is the oldest still commonly used anti-seizure medication.[12][13] It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.[14]
^Bassert JM (2017). McCurnin's Clinical Textbook for Veterinary Technicians - E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 955. ISBN 9780323496407.
^Anvisa (2023-03-31). "RDC Nº 784 - Listas de Substâncias Entorpecentes, Psicotrópicas, Precursoras e Outras sob Controle Especial" [Collegiate Board Resolution No. 784 - Lists of Narcotic, Psychotropic, Precursor, and Other Substances under Special Control] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Diário Oficial da União (published 2023-04-04). Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
^"Sezaby- phenobarbital sodium injection". DailyMed. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
^ abcdefghijklmn"Phenobarbital". The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved Aug 14, 2015.
^ abMarx JA (2010). Rosen's emergency medicine : concepts and clinical practice (7 ed.). Philadelphia: Mosby/Elsevier. p. 1352. ISBN 978-0-323-05472-0. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05.
^Ilangaratne NB, Mannakkara NN, Bell GS, Sander JW (December 2012). "Phenobarbital: missing in action". Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 90 (12): 871–871A. doi:10.2471/BLT.12.113183. PMC 3524964. PMID 23284189.
^Brodie MJ, Kwan P (December 2012). "Current position of phenobarbital in epilepsy and its future". Epilepsia. 53 (Suppl 8): 40–46. doi:10.1111/epi.12027. PMID 23205961. S2CID 25553143.
^National Clinical Guideline Centre (UK) (January 2012). "The Epilepsies: The Diagnosis and Management of the Epilepsies in Adults and Children in Primary and Secondary Care: Pharmacological Update of Clinical Guideline 20". National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence: Guidance. London: Royal College of Physicians (UK). PMID 25340221 – via PubMed.
^Thomas WB (2003). "Seizures and narcolepsy". In Dewey CW (ed.). A Practical Guide to Canine and Feline Neurology. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State Press. ISBN 978-0-8138-1249-6.
^"Prescribing medicines in pregnancy database". Australian Government. 3 March 2014. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
^"Phenobarbital use while Breastfeeding". 2013. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
^Brenner GM, Stevens CW (2013). "Antiepileptic Drugs". Pharmacology (4th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier/Saunders. p. 204. ISBN 978-1-4557-0278-7. Archived from the original on 2017-09-04.
^Engel J (2008). Epilepsy : a comprehensive textbook (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 1431. ISBN 978-0-7817-5777-5. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05.
^World Health Organization (2021). World Health Organization model list of essential medicines: 22nd list (2021). Geneva: World Health Organization. hdl:10665/345533. WHO/MHP/HPS/EML/2021.02.
Phenobarbital, also known as phenobarbitone or phenobarb, sold under the brand name Luminal among others, is a medication of the barbiturate type. It...
Mentha piperita and hop extract Humulus lupulus and the barbiturate phenobarbital, popular in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union as a heart medication...
natural belladonna alkaloids in a specific fixed ratio combined with phenobarbital to provide peripheral anticholinergic/antispasmodic action and mild...
drug containing three active ingredients - theophylline, ephedrine, phenobarbital. This medication relaxes the smooth muscle of the airways, making breathing...
euthanasia, capital punishment, and assisted suicide. Barbiturates, such as phenobarbital, were long used as anxiolytics and hypnotics. Intermediate-acting barbiturates...
European countries. Phenobarbital was the main anticonvulsant from 1912 until the development of phenytoin in 1938. Today, phenobarbital is rarely used to...
raising the seizure threshold is likely due to its active metabolite, phenobarbital. Primidone was approved for medical use in the United States in 1954...
commonly known products initially commercialized by Bayer include heroin, phenobarbital, polyurethanes, and polycarbonates.[citation needed] In 1925, Bayer...
diagnosed with generalized seizures. She was successfully treated with phenobarbital (2.5 mg/kg by mouth twice a day, bringing her within the therapeutic...
salt compound of phenobarbital and levopropylhexedrine. It was introduced in 1983. It has been reported to be as effective as phenobarbital but better tolerated;...
first-line treatment or in addition to phenobarbital, when seizures are not adequately controlled with phenobarbital alone. Use of bromide in cats is limited...
has similar liver enzyme inducing effects to the closely related drug phenobarbital, which may be exploited in some clinical applications. Okudzhava VM...
primidone, although it is produced in a much lower concentration than phenobarbital, the other active metabolite. El-Masri HA, Portier CJ (June 1998). "Physiologically...
treated with anticonvulsants such as levetiracetam, phenobarbital, or bromide in dogs and phenobarbital in cats. Imepitoin is also used in dogs. While generalized...
combination of levorotatory alkaloids of belladonna, ergotamine tartrate, and phenobarbital, used for the treatment of functional menopause, such as hot flashes...
action with less sedative effects than the closely related compound phenobarbital. It saw reasonable success in clinical trials, but is not in widespread...
war movement and the counterculture era. He died by suicide with a phenobarbital overdose in 1989 at age 52. Abbot Howard Hoffman was born November 30...
levels of primidone and phenobarbital. Combined use of clonazepam with certain antidepressants, anticonvulsants (such as phenobarbital, phenytoin, and carbamazepine)...
used in the synthesis of moderate to long lasting barbiturates such as phenobarbital. Unlike other malonic esters that are derived via malonic ester synthesis...
of other medications may be used if these are not effective, such as phenobarbital, propofol, or ketamine. After initial treatment with benzodiazepines...
order), but greater than phenobarbital and barbital (in descending order). (Secobarbital > pentobarbital > amobarbital > phenobarbital > barbital) It has an...
also as a sedative and anxiolytic. It is the N-methylated analogue of phenobarbital and has similar indications, therapeutic value, and tolerability. 1935...
antihistamines, opioids, and antipsychotics, as well as anticonvulsants such as phenobarbital, phenytoin, and carbamazepine. The euphoriant effects of opioids may...
name, Nembutal) liquid — (not to be mistaken for epilepsy medication phenobarbital) have been used either alone or in combination for physician-assisted...
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