Heptabarbitone as a Pre-operative Sedative.

There are advantages to be gained from using an oral barbiturate as a pre-operative sedative. Heptabarbitone (Medomin) has been given in a dose of 400 mg to fifty healthy patients undergoing minor gynaecological operations. Using a scoring system, the sedative effects of diis drug have been measured and found to be comparable with the sedation produced by papaveretum 20 mg and hyoscine 0.4 mg and significandy better than the sedation produced by pethidine in a dose of 100 mg. Nausea and vomiting did not occur pre-operatively after premedication widi heptabarbitone and were seldom noted postoperatively, and in the cases studied postoperatively resdessness was rare.