title: Pharmacokinetics of thiopental in the asphyxiated neonate.
abstract: The pharmacokinetic properties of thiopental were studied in 10 asphyxiated neonates (mean +/- SE; birth weight, 3,244 +/- 212 g; gestational age, 40 +/- 1 weeks) as part of a randomized, controlled trial which tested the ability of barbiturate therapy to decrease central nervous system damage secondary to perinatal asphyxia. Therapy was begun at a mean age of 2.3 h in all and was initially given as a loading dose of 15 mg/kg over 30 min followed by a constant infusion. The mean steady-state thiopental concentration was 13.4 +/- 3.7 micrograms/ml (mean +/- SD) and the average time to reach steady state was 7 +/- 5 h. Mean elimination half-life, plasma clearance and volume of distribution for thiopental were 39 h (range 26-70), 66 ml/(h x kg) (range 31-172), and 3.6 liters/kg (range 1.1-6.7), respectively. Arterial blood pressure support was required in 8 of 10 patients. While it appears feasible to give thiopental to the asphyxiated neonate at the reported infusion rates, the risk-benefit ratio is increased by the frequent associated hypotension and need for pharmacologic blood pressure support.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Miami School of Medicine, Fla.
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Garg
authors.forename: R N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Woo-Ming
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Weidler
mesh_terms: D001238:Asphyxia Neonatorum / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011897:Random Allocation; D013874:Thiopental / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*
chemical_list: D013874:Thiopental