The use of Althesin for induction of anaesthesia in 57 patients showed that it is a satisfactory induction agent. However, with the exception of rapid recovery with minimal after-effects, it has no major advantages over the commonly used barbiturates.

BACKGROUND Alcohol withdrawal delirium is the most serious manifestation of alcohol withdrawal. Evidence suggests that appropriate care improves mortality, but systematic reviews are unavailable. METHODS Articles with original data on management of alcohol withdrawal delirium underwent structured review and meta-analysis. RESULTS Meta-analysis of 9 prospective controlled trials demonstrated...

In 1967-76 the annual number of admissions to a poisoning treatment centre rose from 964 to 2134. The proportion of admissions caused by taking barbiturate hypnotics and methaqualone fell considerably while that caused by taking benzodiazepines and tricyclic antidepressants increased. As a result the proportion of patients admitted unconscious fell from 23% to 15%. The declining contributions o...

A sensitive assay for the determination of four different barbiturates: butabarbital, cyclobarbital, pentobarbital and secobarbital is described. The barbiturates are determined quantitatively by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) as their dimethylated derivatives. The sensitivity of this simple procedure is limited to 10 x 10(-6) g/l for cyclo- and secobarbital and 1 x 10(-6) g/l for...

The influence of the newer, non-barbiturate hypnotics Mandrax (diphenhydramine-methaqualone) and nitrazepam on drug-metabolizing capacity was assessed and compared with the effect of amylobarbitone, a known inducer of drug-metabolizing enzymes. Plasma antipyrine and phenylbutazone half-lives and urinary output of 6beta-hydroxycortisol were used as indices. Volunteer subjects were exposed to the...

A simple, convenient method is described for the detection in human urine of three major classes of drugs of abuse: amphetamines, barbiturates, and alkaloids. The drugs are adsorbed from urine by a column of non-ionic resin (Amberlite XAD.2), eluted with methanol, and chromatographed on a thinlayer silica gel plate. The drugs are made visible and identified by a series of procedures involving e...

S TATISTICS conmpiled by time l’oison Control Center, New York City Department of Heaitlm, indicate fimat barbiturate imitoxication in adults ranks first as a cause of poisonilmg (1). The need for a rapid and sensitive method for detecting ammd ideiitifyiimg barbiturates in body fluids for diagnostic purpose is obvious. Even though timere Imave been mamiy analytic methods described in recelmt y...