Barbiturate overdose

Barbiturate overdose is a form of poisoning caused by someone taking too many barbiturates within a short time.[1]

Barbiturate overdose
Molecular diagram of phenobarbital, the active ingredient of barbiturates.

Barbiturate overdose is a form of poisoning caused by someone taking too many barbiturates within a short time.[1]

Symptoms

Those who have overdosed on barbiturates can show some of the following symptoms:[2]

Complications

In serious cases, noncardiogenic pulmonary edema can occur.[3] The patient can die from a lack of breathing.[4] The amount of barbiturates that can cause death depends on how much someone's body can break down the drug.[4]

The larger the dose of barbiturates someone has taken for a long period, the higher the amount of barbiturates is needed to cause death.[4] This phenomenon is called drug tolerance.[4]

Mechanism

Barbiturates increase the time that the chloride pore of the GABAA receptor is opened, thereby increasing GABA's efficacy. In contrast, benzodiazepines increase the frequency with which the chloride pore is opened, thereby increasing GABA's potency.[5]

Treatment

Charcoal.

Barbiturate overdose can be treated by activated[6] charcoal.[7] Hemodialysis is also sometimes performed.[7] In cases where the poisoned person is not breathing, mechanical ventilation is required while detoxication is performed.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Dictionary of Medical Terms. Bloomsbury Publishing. 2009. p. 37. ISBN 9781408102091. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016.
  2. ↑ Weaver, MF (3 September 2015). "Prescription Sedative Misuse and Abuse". The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. 88 (3): 247–56. PMC 4553644. PMID 26339207.
  3. ↑ Marx, John A. Marx (2014). "165". Rosen's emergency medicine : concepts and clinical practice (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier/Saunders. pp. Sedative Hypnotics. ISBN 978-1455706051.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Sadock, Benjamin J.; Sadock, Virginia A. (2008). Kaplan & Sadock's Concise Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 149. ISBN 9780781787468. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016.
  5. ↑ Lafferty, KA; Bonhomme, K; Kopinski, P; Lee, DC; Abdel-Kariem, R (14 January 2017). Tarabar, A; VanDeVoort, JT; Burns, MJ (eds.). "Barbiturate Toxicity: Pathophysiology". eMedicine. New York, USA: WebMD. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  6. ↑ "Activated Charcoal - Uses, Side Effects, and More". WebMD. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Roberts, DM; Buckley, NA (January 2011). "Enhanced elimination in acute barbiturate poisoning – a systematic review". Clinical Toxicology. 49 (1): 2–12. doi:10.3109/15563650.2010.550582. PMID 21288146. S2CID 41375480.

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