BACKGROUND During ambulatory surgery, barbiturates, such as thiopental, may impair psychomotor performance several hours after administration. It was hypothesized that if patients drink alcohol 4 h after thiopental injection, the increase in psychomotor impairment would be greater than that seen after alcohol ingestion alone. METHODS Twelve healthy men volunteered to participate in a double-b...

Thiopental induces a negative inotropic effect on mammalian heart muscle, where it decreases Ca2+ current and Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum and reduces K+ currents. We analysed the effects of thiopental on the mechanical and electrical activities of rat myocardium, which differ markedly from those of other mammals. The effects of thiopental on mechanical parameters and on the tra...

PURPOSE Ca(2+) homeostasis plays an important role in myocardial cell injury induced by hypoxia-reoxygenation, and prevention of intracellular Ca(2+) overload is key to cardioprotection. Even though thiopental is a frequently used anesthetic agent, little is known about its cardioprotective effects, particularly in association with Ca(2+) homeostasis. We investigated whether thiopental protects...

Barbiturate coma is initiated in brain-injured patients whenever elevated intracranial pressure remains unresponsive to other therapeutical strategies. However, barbiturates alter cortical activity resulting in difficulties in clinical evaluation. Therefore, we investigated the impact of long-term thiopental administration on responsiveness to exteroceptive stimuli in relation to pharmacokineti...

A best evidence topic in cardiac surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was: Does the use of thiopental provide added cerebral protection during deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA)? Altogether, more than 62 papers were found using the reported search, of which 7 represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The authors, journal, da...

INTRODUCTION General anesthesia is required for Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) and it is usually provided by a hypnotic agent. The seizure duration is important for the treatment, and it is usually accompanied by severe hemodynamic changes. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of sodium thiopental versus Propofol on seizure duration and hemodynamic variables during ECT. METHODS A...

Barbiturates are regularly used as an anesthetic for animal experimentation and clinical procedures and are frequently provided with solubilizing compounds, such as ethanol and propylene glycol, which have been reported to affect brain function and, in the case of (1)H NMR experiments, originate undesired resonances in spectra affecting the quantification. As an alternative, thiopental can be a...

The effects of intravenous anesthetics on myocytes have not been fully elucidated. To investigate the effects of various intravenous anesthetics such as fentanyl, morphine, ketamine, diazepam, midazolam, thiamylal, and thiopental on the beta-adrenergic signaling pathway, we measured isoproterenol-stimulated cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) production in freshly isolated rat ventricular myo...

Protective effects of thiopental, mannitol, and glycerol on global cerebral ischemia were neu rophysiologically investigated. Global cerebral ischemia was produced for 20 or 30 minutes in cats by temporary intrathoracic clamping of the innominate and left subclavian arteries following previous ligation of the mammary arteries and simultaneous lowering of the systemic arterial blood pressure...