Sodium Pentathol: Uses, Side Effects & Medical Applications

Sodium pentothal may be best known for its dark role in lethal injections as well as its former use by intelligence organizations as a 'truth serum.' Today, it is most often used for medical procedures.

History

• Sodium Pentothal is the trade name for Thiopental Sodium and was first discovered in 1936.

Function

• It is used for brief anesthetic procedures, administered in combination with other anesthetics, for hypnosis purposes and to help control convulsions.

Considerations

• Due to their ability to metabolize the drug more quickly, younger patients require larger doses than those 40 and older.

Warning

• Poor reactions to sodium pentothal include respiratory and myocardial distress, cardiac arrhythmias and death. It may also be habit forming.

Prevention/Solution

• Pentothal should only be given by those qualified in the administration of intravenous anesthetics.