Emergency screening of urine, plasma, or gastric contents for barbiturates.

THERE IS AN EVER-increasing need for a rapid method of screening for barbiturates in the laboratory. Although the ultraviolet methods (1, ) are the most accurate, they require 0.5 to 2 h of technician time and therefore are hardly ideal for emergency-room use. Some methods have been published which depend on the complexing reaction of barbiturates in an organic solvent with a mercury salt in an aqueous solution (3-7). However, these, too, require special equipment and have their practical limitations. The procedure described below also depends on complexing action but requires no specialized equipment and caii be performed in less than 10 mm. Therefore, it lends itself to emergency-room use. The method is highly specific and is sensitive to about 1mg/100 ml.